V 


.  \l 


FJ 


iiiijllllP 


THE      CAPITOL 


THE. LIVES, 


JAMES.  MAD  IS  ON 


JAMES  MONROE, 


FOURTH  AND  FIFTH  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


BY  JOHN  -QUINCY  ADAMS. 


WITH 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES  OF  THEIR  ADMINISTRATIONS. 


BOSTON: 
PHILLIPS,   SAMPSON    k  CO.    PUBLISHERS. 

BUFFALO: 
GEO.  H.   DERBY    AND   CO. 

1850. 


'3 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850,  by 

GEO.    H.    DERBY    &    CO., 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  for  the  Northern  District  of  New  York. 


JEVETT,   THOMAS,  <fa  CO., 
STEREOTTPERS   A>D  PRINTERS, 
Buffalo,  N.  Y. 


TO    THE 

FRIENDS   OF  REPUBLICANISM, 

THESE 
LIVES    OF    ITS    EARLY    AND    ABLE    EXPOUNDERS, 

ITS    MODEL    EXEMPLIFIERS, 
AND    ITS    TRIUMPHANT    ADVOCATES, 

ARE  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON,         ....         9 
NOTICES  OF  HIS  ADMINISTRATION,         .         .         106 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MONROE,         ....      197 
NOTICES  OF  HIS  ADMINISTRATION,        .        .          297 


PREFACE. 


Now  that  John  Quincy  Adams — the  sage,  the  phi 
losopher,  and  the  statesman — has  been  gathered  to 
his  fathers,  an  air  of  sanctity,  never  witnessed  while 
he  was  in  life,  surronnds  everything  he  wrote  or  ut 
tered  ;  and  the  odor  of  nationality  "  rises  -gratefully, 
from  the  emanations  of  his  brilliant  genius,  and  the 
productions  of  his  superior  intellect." 

He,  indeed,  touched  nothing  that  he  did  not  adorn 
with  the  rich  charms  of  the  language  he  moulded  at 
his  will,  or  the  mental  treasures  of  his  inexhaustible 
store.  And  no  one,  perhaps,  among  American  states 
men  or  men  of  letters,  was  better  able  than  he  to 
pronounce  the  eulogies  of  Madison  and  Monroe. 

In  presenting  to  the  public,  these  chef-d' 'ceuvres  of 
a  master  hand,  in  a  permanent  form,  the  editor  has 
not  the  vanity  to  suppose  he  can  add  a  single  additional 
charm.  And  yet,  to  the  lover  of  history,  and  to  the 
politician,  the  notices  of  the  administrations  of  those 
two  most  eminent  disciples  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  which 
accompany  them,  may  not  be  without  interest. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

One  consideration  which,  above  all  others,  has  in 
duced  the  preparation  of  these  notices,  is,  that  we 
have  nothing  of  a  similar  character,  except  what  has 
proceeded  from  political  opponents. 

THE  EDITOR. 

JNTew  York,  January,  1850. 


LIFE 


OF 


JAMES  MADISON. 


WHEN  the  imperial  despot  of  Persia  surveyed  the 
myriads  of  his  vassals,  whom  he  had  assembled  for  the 
invasion  and  conquest  of  Greece,  we  are  told  by  the 
father  of  profane  history,!  that  the  monarch's  heart, 
at  first,  distended  with  pride,  but  immediately  after 
wards  sunk  within  him,  and  turned  to  tears  of  anguish 
at  the  thought,  that  within  one  hundred  years  from 
that  day,  not  one  of  all  the  countless  numbers  of  his 
host  would  remain  in  the  land  of  the  living. 

The  brevity  of  human  life  had  afforded  a  melancholy 
contemplation  to  wiser  and  better  men  than  Xerxes, 
in  ages  long  before  that  of  his  own  existence.  It  is 
still  the  subject  of  philosophical  reflection  or  of  Chris 
tian  resignation,  to  the  living  man  of  the  present  age. 
It  will  continue  such,  so  long  as  the  race  of  man  shall 
exist  upon  earth. 

*  Written  in  1836,  at  the  request  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress. 
t  Herodotus. 

1* 


10  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

But  it  is  the  condition  of  our  nature  to  look  before 
and  after :  The  Persian  tyrant  looked,  forward,  and  la 
mented  the  shortness  of  life  ;  but  in  that  century  which 
bounded  his  mental  vision,  he  knew  not  what  was  to 
come  to  pass,  for  weal  or  woe,  to  the  race  whose  tran 
sitory  nature  he  deplored,  and  his  own  purposes,  hap 
pily  baffled  by  the  elements  which  he  with  absurd  pre 
sumption  would  have  chastised,  were  of  the  most  odi 
ous  and  detestable  character. 

Reflections  upon  the  shortness  of  time  allotted  to 
individual  man  upon  this  planet,  may  be  turned  to  more 
useful  account,  by  connecting  them  with  ages  past 
than  with  those  that  are  to  come.  The  family  of  man 
is  placed  upon  this  congregated  ball  to  earn  an  im 
proved  condition  hereafter  by  improving  his  own  con 
dition  here — and  this  duty  of  improvement  is  not  less 
a  social  than  a  selfish  principle.  We  are  bound  to  ex 
ert  all  the  faculties  bestowed  upon  us  by  our  Maker, 
to  improve  our  own  condition,  by  improving  that  of 
our  fellow  men  ;  and  the  precept  that  we  should  love 
our  neighbor  as  ourselves,  and  that  we  should  do  to 
others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto  us,  are 
but  examples  of  that  duty  of  co-operation  to  the  im 
provement  of  his  kind,  which  is  the  first  law  of  God 
to  man,  unfolded  alike  in  the  volumes  of  nature  and  of 
inspiration. 

Let  us  look  back  then  for  consolation  from  the 
thought  of  the  shortness  of  human  life,  as  urged  upon 
us  by  the  recent  decease  of  JAMES  MADISON,  one  of 
the  pillars  and  ornaments  of  his  country  and  of  his  age. 


LIFE    OF    JAMES     MADISON.  11 

His  time  on  earth  was  short,  yet  he  died  full  of  years 
and  of  glory — less,  far  less  than  one  hundred  years 
have  elapsed  since  the  day  of  his  birth — yet  has  he 
fulfilled,  nobly  fulfilled,  his  destinies  as  a  man  and  a 
Christian.  He  has  improved  his  own  condition  by  im 
proving  that  of  his  country  and  his  kind. 

He  was  born  in  Orange  County,  in  the  British  Colo 
ny  of  Virginia,  on  the  5th  of  March,  1750  ;  or  ac 
cording  to  the  Gregorian  calendar,  adopted  the  year 
after  that  of  his  birth,  on  the  16th  of  March,  1751,  of 
a  distinguished  and  opulent  family  ;  and  received  the 
early  elements  of  education  partly  at  a  public  school 
under  the  charge  of  Donald  Robertson,  and  afterwards 
in  the  paternal  mansion  under  the  private  tuition  of  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Martin,  by  whose  instructions  he  was 
prepared  for  admission  at  Princeton  College. 

There  are  three  stages  in  the  history  of  the  North 
American  Revolution — the  first  of  which  may  be  con 
sidered  as  commencing  with  the  order  of  the  British 
Council  for  enforcing  the  acts  of  trade  in  1760,  and  as 
having  reached  its  crisis  at  the  meeting  of  the  first 
Congress  fourteen  years  after  at  Philadelphia.  It  was 
a  struggle  for  the  preservation  and  recovery  of  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  the  British  Colonies.  It  termi 
nated  in  a  civil  war,  the  character  and  object  of  which 
was  changed  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  second  stage  is  that  of  the  War  of  Indepen 
dence,  usually  so  called — but  it  began  fifteen  months 
before  the  Declaration,  and  was  itself  the  immediate 
cause  and  not  the  effect  of  that  event.  It  closed  by 


12  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

the  preliminary  Treaty  of  Peace  concluded  at  Paris 
on  the  30th  of  November,  1782. 

The  third  is  the  formation  of  the  Anglo-American 
People  and  Nation  of  North  America.  This  event 
was  completed  by  the  meeting  of  the  first  Congress  of 
the  United  States  under  their  present  Constitution,  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1789.  Thirty  years  is  the  usual 
computation  for  the  duration  of  one  generation  of  the 
human  race.  The  space  of  time  from  1760  to  1790 
includes  the  generation  with  which  the  North  Amer 
ican  Revolution  began,  passed  through  all  its  stages, 
and  ended. 

The  attention  of  the  civilized  European  world,  and 
perhaps  an  undue  proportion  of  our  own,  has  been 
drawn  to  the  second  of  these  three  stages — to  the  con 
test  with  Great  Britain  for  Independence.  It  was  an 
arduous  and  apparently  a  very  unequal  conflict.  But 
it  was  not  without  example  in  the  annals  of  mankind. 
It  has  often  been  remarked  that  the  distinction  between 
rebellion  and  revolution  consists  only  in  the  event,  and 
is  marked  only  by  difference  of  success.  But  to  a  just 
estimate  of  human  affairs  there  are  other  elementary 
materials  of  estimation.  A  revolution  of  government, 
to  the  leading  minds  by  which  it  is  undertaken,  is  an 
object  to  be  accomplished.  William  Tell,  Gustavus 
Vasa,  William  of  Orange,  had  been  the  leaders  of  rev 
olutions,  the  object  of  which  had  been  the  establish 
ment  or  the  recovery  of  popular- liberties.  But  in 
neither  of  those  cases  had  the  part  performed  by  those 
individuals  been  the  result  of  deliberation  or  design. 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  13 

The  sphere  of  action  in  all  those  cases  was  incompara 
bly  more  limited  and  confined — the  geographical  di 
mensions  of  the  scene  narrow  and  contracted — the  po 
litical  principles  brought  into  collision  of  small  com 
pass — no  foundation  of  the  social  compact  to  be  laid — 
no  people  to  be  formed — the  popular  government  of  the 
American  Revolution  had  been  preceded  by  a  foresee 
ing  and  directing  mind.  I  mean  not  to  say  by  one 
mind ;  but  by  a  pervading  mind,  which  in  a  preceding 
age  had  inspired  the  prophetic  verses  of  Berkley,  and 
which  may  be  traced  back  to  the  first  Puritan  settlers 
of  Plymouth  and  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  "  From,  the 
first  institution  of  the  Company  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,"  says  Dr.  Robertson,  "its  members  seem  to  have 
been  animated  with  a  spirit  of  innovation  m  civil  poli 
cy  as  well  as  in  religion  ;  and  by  the  habit  of  rejecting 
established  usages  in  the  one,  they  were  prepared  for 
deviating  from  them  in  the  other.  They  had  applied 
for  a  royal  charter,  in  order  to  give  legal  effect  to  their 
operations  in  England,  as  acts  of  a  body  politic  ;  but 
the  persons  whom  they  sent  out  to  America,  as  soon  as 
they  landed  there,  considered  themselves  as  individu 
als,  united  together  by  voluntary  association,  possess 
ing  the  natural  right  of  men  who  form  a  society  to 
adopt  what  mode  of  government  and  to  enact  what 
laws  they  deemed  most  conducive  to  general  felicity." 
And  such  had  continued  to  be  the  prevailing  spirit 
of  the  people  of  New  England  from  the  period  of  their 
settlement  to  that  of  the  revolution.  The  people  of 
Virginia,  too  notwithstanding  their  primitive  loyalty, 


14  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

had  been  trained  to  revolutionary  doctrines  and  to  war 
like  habits  ;  by  their  frequent  collision  with  Indian 
wars  ;  by  the  convulsions  of  Bacon's  rebellion,  and  by 
the  wars  with  France,  of  which  their  own  borders 
were  the  theatre,  down  to  the  close  of  the  war  which 
immediately  preceded  that  of  the  revolution.  The 
contemplation  and  the  defiance  of  danger,  a  qualifica 
tion  for  all  great  enterprise  and  achievement  upon 
earth,  was  from  the  very  condition  of  their  existence,  a 
property  almost  universal  to  the  British  Colonists  in 
North  America ;  and  hardihood  of  body,  unfettered 
energy  of  intellect  and  intrepidity  of  spirit,  fitted  them 
for  trials,  which  the  feeble  and  enervated  races  of 
other  ages  and  climes  could  never  have  gone  through. 
For  the  three  several  stages  of  this  new  Epocha  in 
the  earthly  condition  of  man,  a  superintending  Provi 
dence  had  ordained  that  there  should  arise  from  the 
native  population  of  the  soil,  individuals  with  minds 
organized  and  with  spirits  trained  to  the  exigencies  of 
the  times,  and  to  the  successive  aspects  of  the  social 
state.  In  the  contest  of  principle  which  originated 
with  the  attempt  of  the  British  Government  to  burden 
their  Colonies  with  taxation  by  act  of  Parliament,  the 
natural  rights  of  mankind  found  efficient  defenders  in 
James  Otis,  Patrick  Henry,  John  Dickinson,  Josiah 
Quincy,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Arthur  Lee  and  numerous 
other  writers  of  inferior  note.  As  the  contest  changed 
its  character,  Samuel  and  John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferson  were  among  the  first  who  raised  the  standard 
of  Independence  and  prepared  the  people  for  the  con- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  15 

flict  through  which  they  were  to  pass.  For  the  con 
test  of  physical  force  by  arms,  Washington,  Charles 
Lee,  Putnam,  Green,  Gates,  and  a  graduation  of  others 
of  inferior  ranks  had  been  prepared  by  the  preceding 
wars — by  the  conquest  of  Canada  and  by  the  previous 
capture  of  Louisburg.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  every  action  was  disputed  with  the  perseverance 
and  tenacity  of  veteran  combatants,  and  the  minute 
men  of  Lexington  and  Bunker's  Hill  were  as  little  pre 
pared  for  flight  at  the  onset  as  the  Macedonian  pha 
lanx  of  Alexander  or  the  tenth  legion  of  Julius  Caesar. 

But  the  great  work  of  the  North  American  revolu 
tion  was  not  in  the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  the 
British  Colonies  by  argument,  nor  in  the  conflict  of 
physical  force  by  war.  The  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence  annulled  the  national  character  of  the  American 
people.  That  character  had  been  common  to  them  all 
as  subjects  of  one  and  the  same  sovereign,  and  that 
sovereign  was  a  king.  The  dissolution  of  that  tie  was 
pronounced  by  one  act  common  to  them  all,  and  it  left 
them  as  members  of  distinct  communities  in  the  rela 
tions  towards  each  other,  bound  only  by  the  obligations 
of  the  law  of  nature  and  of  the  Union,  by  which  they 
had  renounced  their  connexion  with  the  mother  coun 
try. 

But  what  was  to  be  the  condition  of  their  national 
existence  1  This  was  the  problem  of  difficult  solution 
for  them  ;  and  this  was  the  opening  of  the  new  era  in 
the  science  of  government  and  in  the  history  of  man 
kind. 


16  LIFE    OF   JAMES    MADISON. 

Their  municipal  governments  were  founded  upon  the 
common  law  of  England,  modified  by  their  respective 
charters  ;  by  the  Parliamentary  law  of  England  so  far 
as  it  had  been  adopted  by  their  usages,  and  by  the  en 
actments  of  their  own  Legislative  assemblies.  This 
was  a  complicated  system  of  law,  and  has  formed  a 
subject  of  much  internal  perplexity  to  many  of  the 
States  of  the  Union,  and  in  several  of  them  continues 
unadjusted  to  this  day.  By  the  common  consent  of 
all,  however,  this  was  reserved  for  the  separate  and  ex 
clusive  regulation  of  each  state  within  itself. 

As  a  member  of  the  community  of  nations,  it  was 
also  agreed  that  they  should  constitute  one  body — 
"E  Pluribus  Unum"  was  the  device  which  they  as 
sumed  as  the  motto  for  their  common  standard.  And 
there  was  one  great  change  from  their  former  condi 
tion,  which  they  adopted  with  an  unanimity  so  abso 
lute,  that  no  proposition  of  a  different  character  was 
ever  made  before  them.  It  was  that  all  their  govern 
ments  should  be  republican.  They  were  determined 
not  only  to  be  separately  republics,  but  to  tolerate  no 
other  form  of  government  as  constituting  a  part  of  their 
community.  A  natural  consequence  of  this  determi 
nation  was  that  they  should  remain  separate  indepen 
dencies,  and  the  first  suggestion  which  presented  itself 
to  them,  was  that  their  Union  should  be  merely  a  con 
federation. 

In  the  first  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  second  stage 
of  the  revolution,  the  name  of  JAMES  MADISON  had 
not  appeared.  At  the  commencement  of  the  contest 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  17 

he  was  but  ten  years  of  age.  When  the  first  blood 
was  shed,  here  in  the  streets  of  Boston,  he  was  a  stu 
dent  ift  the  process  of  his  education  at  Princeton  Col 
lege,  where  the  next  year,  1771,  he  received  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  was  even  then  so  highly  dis 
tinguished  by  the  power  of  application  and  the  rapidity 
of  his  progress,  that  he  performed  all  the  exercises  of 
the  two  senior  Collegiate  years  in  one — while  at  the 
same  time  his  deportment  was  so  exemplary,  that  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  then  at  the  head  of  that  College,  and  af 
terwards  himself  one  of  the  most  eminent  Patriots  and 
Sages  of  our  revolution,  always  delighted  in  bearing 
testimony  to  the  excellency  of  his  character  at  that 
early  stage  of  his  career  ;  and  said  to  Thomas  Jefferson 
long  afterwards,  when  they  were  all  colleagues  in  the 
revolutionary  Congress,  that  in  the  whole  career  of 
Mr.  MADISON  at  Princeton,  he  had  never  known  him  to 
say  or  do  an  indiscreet  thing. 

Discretion  in  its  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  men  is 
the  parent  of  moderate  and  conciliatory  counsels,  and 
these  were  peculiarly  indispensable  to  the  perpetuation 
of  the  American  Union,  and  to  the  prosperous  advance 
ment  and  termination  of  the  revolution,  precisely  at  the 
period  when  Mr.  Madison  was  first  introduced  into 
public  life. 

In  1775,  among  the  earliest  movements  of  the  revo 
lutionary  contest,  he  wras  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Public  Safety  of  the  County  of  Orange,  and  in  1776, 
of  the  Convention  substituted  for  the  ordinary  Legis 
lature  of  the  Colony.  By  one  of  those  transient  ca- 


18  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

prices  of  popular  favour,  which  sometimes  influence 
elections,  he  was  not  returned  to  the  House  of  Dele 
gates  in  1777,  but  was  immediately  after  elected  by 
that  body  to  the  Executive  Council,  of  which  he  con 
tinued  a  leading  member  till  the  close  of  the  year 
1779,  and  was  then  transferred  by  the  Legislature  to 
the  representation  of  the  Commonwealth  in  the  Conti 
nental  Congress.  His  first  entrance  into  public  life  was 
signalized  by  the  resolution  of  the  Convention  of  the 
State,  instructing  their  Delegates  to  vote  for  the  Inde 
pendence  of  the  Colonies  ;  by  the  adoption  of  a  de 
claration  of  rights,  and  by  their  organization  of  a  State 
government,  which  continued  for  more  than  half  a  cen 
tury  the  Constitution  of  the  Commonwealth  before  it 
underwent  the  revision  of  the  people  ;  an  event  in 
which  he  was  destined  again  to  take  a  conspicuous 
part.  On  the  20th  of  March,  1780,  he  took  his  seat 
as  a  delegate  in  the  Congress  of  the  Confederation. 
It  was  then  in  the  midst  of  the  revolution,  and  under 
the  influence  of  its  most  trying  scenes,  that  his  politi 
cal  character  was  formed  ;  and  then  it  was  that  the 
yjjliie_jo£-4iseretion,  the  spirit  of  moderation,  the  con 
ciliatory  temper  -of  -eempromise-found  room  for  exer 
cise  in  its  most  comprehensive  extent. 

One  of  the  provisions  in  the  articles  of  Confedera 
tion  most  strongly  marked  with  that  same  spirit  of 
Liberty,  the  vital  breath  of  the  contest  in  which  our 
fathers  were  engaged  ;  the  true  and  undying  conser 
vative  spirit  by  which  we  their  children  enjoy  that 
Freedom  which  they  achieved  ;  but  which  like  all 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON'.  19 

other  pure  and  virtuous  principles  sometimes  leads  to 
error  by  its  excess,  was  that  no  member  of  this  om 
nipotent  Congress  should  hold  that  office  more  than 
three  years  in  six.  This  provision,  however,  was  con 
strued  not  to  have  commenced  its  operation  until  the 
final  ratification  of  the  articles  by  all  the  States  on  the 
first  of  March,  1781.  Mr.  Madison  remained  in  Con 
gress  nearly  four  years,  from  the  20th  of  March,  1780, 
till  the  first  Monday  in  November,  1783.  He  was 
thus  a  member  of  that  body  during  the  last  stages  of 
the  revolutionary  war  and  for  one  year  after  the  con 
clusion  of  the  Peace.  He  had,  during  that  period, 
unceasing  opportunities  to  observe  the  mortifying  in 
efficiency  of  the  merely  federative  principle  upon 
which  the  Union  of  the  States  had  been  organized, 
and  had  taken  an  active  part  in  all  the  remedial  meas 
ures  proposed  by  Congress  for  amending  the  Articles 
of  Confederation. 

A  Confederation  is  not  a  country.  There  is  no 
magnet  of  attraction  in  any  league  of  Sovereign  and 
Independent  States  which  causes  the  hearkstting£,of 
the  individual,  man  to  vibrate  in  jmison  with  those  of 
his  neighbor.  Confederates  are  not  Countrymen,  as 
the  tie  of  affinity  by  convention  can  never  be  so  close 
as  the  tie  of  kindred  by  blood.  The  Confederation  of 
the  North  American  States  was  an  experiment  of  in 
estimable  value,  even  by  its  failure.  It  taught  our 
fathers  the  lesson,  that  they  had  more,  infinitely  more 
to  do  than  merely  to  achieve  their  Independence  by 
war.  That  they  must  form  their  social  compact  upon 


20  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MADISON. 

principles  never  before  attempted  upon  earth.  That 
the  Achean  league  of  ancient  days,  the  Hanseatic 
league  of  the  middle  ages,  the  leagues  of  Switzerland 
or  of  the  Netherlands  of  later  times,  furnished  no 
precedent  upon  which  they  could  safely  build  their  la 
bouring  plan  of  State.  The  Confederation  was  per 
haps  as  closely  knit  together  as  it  was  possible  that 
such  a  form  of  polity  could  be  grappled  ;  but  it  was 
matured  by  the  State  Legislatures  without  consulta 
tion  with  the  People,  and  the  jealousy  of  sectional 
collisions,  and  the  distrust  of  all  delegation  of  power, 
stamped  every  feature  of  the  work  with  inefficiency. 

The  deficiency  of  powers  in  the  Confederation  was 
immediately  manifested  in  their  inability  to  regulate 
the  commerce  of  the  country,  and  to  raise  revenue, 
indispensable  for  the  discharge  of  the  debt  accumu 
lated  in  the  progress  of  the  Revolution.  Repeated 
efforts  were  made  to  supply  this  deficiency ;  but  al 
ways  without  success. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  1781,  it  was  recommended 
to  the  several  States  as  indispensably  necessary  that 
they  should  vest  a  power  in  Congress  to  levy  for  the 
use  of  the  United  States  a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  ad 
valorem  upon  foreign  importations,  and  all  prize  goods 
condemned  in  a  Court  of  Admiralty  ;  the  money 
arising  from  those  duties  to  be  appropriated  to  the 
discharge  of  the  debts  contracted  for  the  support  of 
the  war. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1783,  a  new  recommendation 
was  adopted  by  Resolutions  of  nine  States,  as  indis- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

pensably  necessary  to  the  restoration  of  public  credit, 
and  to  the  punctual  and  honorable  discharge  of  the 
public  debt,  to  invest  the  Congress  with  a  power  to 
lay  certain  specific  duties  upon  spirituous  liquors,  tea, 
sugar,  coffee  and  cocoa,  and  five  per  cent,  ad  valorem 
upon  all  other  imported  articles  of  merchandise,  to 
be  exclusively  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  the 
principal  or  interest  of  the  public  debt. 

And  that  as  a  further  provision  for  the  payment  of 
the  interest  of  the  debt,  the  States  themselves  should 
levy  a  revenue  to  furnish  their  respective  quotas  of 
an  aggregate  annual  sum  of  one  million  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

And  that  to  provide  a  further  guard  for  the  pay 
ment  of  the  same  debts,  to  hasten  their  extinguish 
ment,  and  to  establish  the  harmony  of  the  United 
States,  the  several  States  should  make  liberal  cessions 
to  the  Union  of  their  territorial  claims. 

With  this  act  a  Committee,  consisting  of  Mr.  MAD 
ISON,  Mr.  Ellsworth  and  Mr.  Hamilton,  was  appoint 
ed  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  States,  which  on  the 
26th  of  the  same  month  was  adopted,  and  transmitted 
together  with  eight  documentary  papers,  demonstra 
ting  the  necessity  that  the  measures  recommended  by 
the  act  should  be  adopted  by  the  States. 

This  address,  one  of  those  incomparable  State  pa 
pers  which  more  than  all  the  deeds  of  arms  immortal 
ized  the  rise,  progress  and  termination  of  the  North 
American  revolution,  was  the  composition  of  JAMES 
MADISON.  After  compressing  into  a  brief  *  and  lumin- 


22  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MADISON. 

ous  summary  all  the  unanswerable  arguments  to  in 
duce  the  restoration  and  maintenance  of  the  public 
faith,  it  concluded  with  the  following  solemn  and  pro 
phetic  admonition  : 

"  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  it  has  ever  been  the 
pride  and  boast  of  America,  that  the  rights  for  which 
she  contended,  were  the  rights  of  human  nature.  By 
the  blessing  of  the  Author  of  these  rights  on  the  means 
exerted  for  their  defence,  they  have  prevailed  over  all 
opposition,  and  form  the  basis  of  thirteen  independent 
States.  No  instance  has  heretofore  occurred,  nor  can 
any  instance  be  expected  hereafter  to  occur,  in  which 
the  unadulterated  forms  of  republican  Government 
can  pretend  to  so  fair  an  opportunity  of  justifying 
themselves  by  their  fruits.  In  this  view  the  citizens 
the  United  States  are  responsible  for  the  greatest 
trust  ever  confided  to  a  political  society.  If  jjisJice,. 
goodjaithy..  honor,  gratitude  and  all_other  qualities 
which  ennoble  the  character  of  a  nation,  and  fulfil  the 
ends  of  Government  be  the  fruits  of  our  establish 
ments,  the  cause  of  Liberty  will  acquire  a  dignity  and 
lustre  which  it  has  never  yet  enjoyed  ;  and  an  ex 
ample  will  be  set  which  cannot  but  have  the  most 
favorable  influence  on  the  rights  of  mankind.  If,  on 
the  other  side,  our  Governments  should  be  unfortu 
nately  blotted  with  the  reverse  of  these  cardinal  and 
essential  virtues,  the  great  cause  which  we  have  en 
gaged  to  vindicate  will  be  dishonored  and  betrayed  ; 
theJas_Land  fnirest  experiment  in  favor  of  the  rights 
of  human  nature  will  frp  turned  acrainsf  Jhfgi ;  and 


' 


um  o, 


their  patrons  and  friends  exposed  to  be  insulted  and 
silenced  by  the  votaries  of  tyranny  and  usurpation." 

My  countrymen  !  do  not  your  hearts  burn  within 
you  at  the  recital  of  these  words,  when  the  retrospect 
brings  to  your  minds  the  time  when,  and  the  person 
by  whom  they  were  spoken  1  Compare  them  with 
the  closing  paragraphs  of  the  address  from  the  first 
Congress  of  1774,  to  your  forefathers,  the  people  of 
the  Colonies. 

"  Your  own  salvation  and  that  of  your  posterity 
now  depends  upon  yourselves.  Against  the  tempo 
rary  inconveniences  you  may  suffer  from  a  stoppage 
of  Trade,  you  will  weigh  in  the  opposite  balance  the 
endless  miseries  you  and  your  descendants  must  en 
dure  from  an  established  arbitrary  power.  You  will 
not  forget  t.hg_Hnnnr  f»f  your  Country  tkat  must,  from 
your  behavior,  take  its  title  in  the  estimation  of  the 
world  tojjjory  or  to  SJTnrnf*  ;  and  you  will  with  the 
deepest  attention  reflect,  that  if  the  peaceable  mode 
of  opposition  recommended  by  us  be  broken  and  ren 
dered  ineffectual,  you  must  inevitably  be  reduced  to 
choose  either  a  more  dangerous  contest,  or  a  final 
ruinous  and  infamous  submission.  We  think  ourselves 
bound  in  duty  to  observe  to  you  that  the  schemes  agi 
tated  against  these  Colonies  have  been  so  conducted 
as  to  render  it  prudent  that  you  should  extend  your 
views  to  mournful  events  and  be  in  all  respects  pre 
pared  for  every  contingency." 

That  was  the  trumpet  of  summons  to  the  conflict 
of  the  revolution  ;  as  the  address  of  April,  1783  was 


24  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MADISON. 

the  note  of  triumph  at  its  close.  They  were  the  first 
and  the  last  words  of  the  Spirit,  which  in  the  germ 
of  the  Colonial  contest,  brooded  over  its  final  fruit> 
the  universal  emancipation  of  civilized  man. 

Compare  them  both  with  the  opening  and  closing 
paragraphs  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  too 
deeply  rivited  in  your  memories  to  need  the  repetition 
of  them  by  me  ;  and  you  have  the  unity  of  action  es 
sential  to  all  heroic  achievement  for  the  benefit  of 
mankind,  and  you  have  the  character  from  its  opening 
to  its  close  ;  the  beginning,  the  middle  and  the  end  of 
that  unexampled,  and  yet  unimitated  moral  and  politi 
cal  agent,  the  Revolutionary  North  American  Con 
gress. 

But  the  Address  of  1783  marks  the  commencement 
of  one  era  in  American  History  as  well  as  the  close 
of  another.  MADISON,  Ellsworth,  Hamilton,  were 
not  of  the  Congress  of  1774,  nor  yet  of  the  Congress 
which  declared  Independence.  They  were  of  a  suc- 
/  ceeding  generation,  men  formed  in  and  by  the  revolu 
tion  itself.  They  had  imbibed  the  Spirit  of  the  revo 
lution,  but  the  nature  of  their  task  was  changed. 
Theirs  was  no  longer  the  duty  to  call  upon  their  coun 
trymen  to  extend  their  views  to  mournful  events,  and 
to  prepare  themselves  for  every  contingency.  But 
more  emphatically  than  even  the  Congress  of  1774, 
were  they  required  to  warn  their  fellow  citizens  that 
their  salvation  and  that  of  their  posterity  depended 
upon  themselves. 

The  warfare  of  self  defence  against  foreign  oppres- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES     MADISON.  25 

sion  was  accomplished.  Independence,  unqualified, 
commercial  and  political,  was  acheived  and  recog 
nised.  But  there  was  yet  in  substance  no  nation — no 
people — no  country  common  to  the  Union.  These 
had  been  self-formed  in  the  heat  of  the  common  strug 
gle  for  freedom  ;  and  evaporated  in  the  very  success 
of  the  energies  they  had  inspired.  A  Confederation 
of  separate  State  Sovereignties,  never  sanctioned  by 
the  body  of  the  people,  could  furnish  no  effective 
Government  for  the  nation.  A  cold  and  lifeless  indif 
ference  to  the  rights,  the  interests,  and  the  duties  of 
the  Union  had  fallen  like  a  palsy  upon  all  their  facul 
ties  instead  of  that  almost  supernatural  vigor  which, 
at  the  origin  of  their  contest,  had  inscribed  upon  their 
banners,  and  upon  their  hearts,  "join  or  die." 

In  November,  1783,  Mr.  MADISON'S  constitutional 
term  of  service  in  Congress,  as  limited  by  the  restric 
tion  in  the  articles  of  Confederation,  expired.  But 
his  talents  were  not  lost  to  his  Country.  He  was 
elected  the  succeeding  year  a  member  of  the  Legisla 
ture  of  his  native  State,  and  continued  by  annual  elec 
tion  in  that  station  till  November,  1786,  when  having 
become  re-eligible  to  Congress,  he  was  again  returned 
to  that  body,  and  on  the  12th  of  February,  1787,  re 
sumed  his  seat  among  its  members. 

In  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  his  labors,  during 
his  absence  of  three  years  from  the  general  councils 
of  the  Confederacy,  were  not  less  arduous  and.unre-^ 
raining,  nor  less  devoted  to  the  great  purposes  of  rev 
olutionary  legislation,  than  while  he  had  been  in  Con- 


26  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

gress.  The  colony  of  Virginia  had  been  settled  un 
der  the  auspicies  of  the  Episcopal  Churh  of  England. 
It  was  there  the  established  Church  ;  and  all  other 
religious  denominations,  there,  as  in  England,  were 
stigmatized  with  the  name  of  dissenters.  For  the 
support  of  this  Church,  the  Colonial  laws  prior  to 
the  revolution  had  subjected  to  taxation  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Colony,  and  it  had  been  endowed 
with  grants  of  property  by  the  Crown.  The  effect  of 
this  had  naturally  been  to  render  the  Church  establish 
ment  unpopular,  and  the  clergy  of  that  establishment 
generally  unfriendly  to  the  revolution.  After  the 
close  of  the  War,  in  the  year  1784,  Mr.  Jefferson  in 
troduced  into  the  Legislature  a  Bill  for  the  establish 
ment  of  Religious  Freedom.  The  principle  of  the 
Bill  was  the  abolition  of  all  taxation  for  the  support 
of  Religion,  or  of  its  Ministers,  and  to  place  the 
freedom  of  all  religious  opinions  wholly  beyond  the 
control  of  the  Legislature.  These  purposes  were 
avowed,  and  supported  by  a  long  argumentative  pre 
amble.  The  Bill  failed  however  to  obtain  the  assent 
of  the  Assembly,  and  instead  of  it  they  prepared  and 
caused  to  be  printed  a  Bill  establishing  a  provision  for 
teachers  of  the  Christian  Religion.  At  the  succeeding 
session  of  the  Legislature,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  absent 
from  the  country,  but  Mr.  Madison,  as  the  champion 
of  Religious  Liberty,  supplied  his  place.  A  memorial 
and  Remonstrance  against  the  Bill  making  provision 
for  the  teachers  of  the  Christian  Religion  was  com 
posed  by  Mr.  Madison,  and  signed  by  multitudes  of 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  27 

the  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  Bill  drafted 
by  Mr.  Jefferson,  together  with  its  preamble,  was  by 
the  influence  of  his  friend  triumphantly  carried  against 
all  opposition  through  the  Legislature. 

The  principle  that  religious  opinions  are  altogether 
beyond  the  sphere  of  legislative  control,  is  but  one 
modification  of  a  more  extensive  axiom,  which  includes 
the  unlimited  freedom  of  the  press,  of  speech,  and  of 
the  communication  of  thought  in  all  its  forms.  An 
authoritative  provision  by  law  for  the  support  of 
teachers  of  the  Christian  Religion  was  prescribed  by 
the  third  Article  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  in  the  Constitu 
tion  of  this  Commonwealth.  An  amendment  recently 
adopted  by  the  people  has  given  their  sanction  to  the 
opinions  of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  and  the  substance 
of  the  Virginia  Statute,  for  the  establishment  of  Re 
ligious  Freedom,  now  forms  a  part  of  the  Constitution 
of  Massachusetts.  That  the  freedom  and  communi 
cation  of  thought  is  paramount  to  all  legislative  au 
thority,  is  a  sentiment  becoming  from  day  to  day  more 
prevalent  throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  which  it 
is  fervently  to  be  hoped  will  henceforth  remain  invio 
late  by  the  legislative  authorities  not  only  of  the 
Union  but  of  all  its  confederated  States. 

At  the  Session  of  1785,  a  general  revisal  was  made 
of  the  Statute  Laws  of  Virginia,  and  the  great  burden  ^- 
of  the  task  devolved  upon  Mr.  Madison  as  chairman 
of  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  House.  The  ge 
neral  principle  which  pervaded  this  operation  was  the 
adaptation  of  the  civil  code  of  the  Commonwealth,  to 


28  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

its  republican  and  unfettered  independence  as  a  Sove 
reign  State,  and  he  carried  it  through  with  that  same 
spirit  of  liberty  and  liberality  which  had  dictated  the 
Act  for  the  establishment  of  Religious  Freedom.  The 
untiring  industry,  the  searching  and  penetrating  ap 
plication,  the  imperturbable  patience,  the  moderation 
and  gentleness  of  disposition,  which  smoothed  his  way 
over  the  ruggedest  and  most  thorny  paths  of  life,  ac 
companied  him  through  this  transaction  as  through  all 
the  rest.  While  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Vir 
ginia,  he  had  contributed  more  than  any  other  person 
to  the  adjustment  of  that  vital  interest  of  the  Union,  the 
disposal  of  the  Public  Lands.  It  was  the  collision  of 
opinions  and  of  interests  relating  to  them  which  had 
delayed  the  conclusion  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion  ;  and  the  cession  afterwards  made  of  the  North 
Western  Territory  was  encumbered  with  conditions 
which  further  delayed  its  acceptance.  By  the  influ 
ence  of  Mr.  Madison,  the  terms  of  the  cession  were 
so  modified,  that  in  conformity  with  them  the  ordi 
nance  for  the  government  of  the  North  Western  Ter 
ritory  was  fuially  adopted  and  established  by  Congress 
on  the  13th  of  July,  1787,  in  the  midst  of  the  labors 
of  the  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  which  two  months 
later  presented  to  the  People  of  the  United  States  for 
their  acceptance,  that  Constitution  of  Government, 
thenceforth  the  polar  star  of  their  Union. 

The  experience  of  four  years  in  the  Congress  of  the 
Confederation,  had  convinced  Mr.  Madison  that  the 
Union  could  not  be  preserved  by  means  of  that  insti- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISOX.  29 


tution.  That  its  mhgrgnt.  infirmity  was  a 
of  power  in  the  federal  head,  and  that  an  insurmount 
able  objection  to  the  grant  of  further  powers  to  Con 
gress,  always  arose  from  the  adverse  prejudices  and 
jealousy  writh  which  the  demand  of  them  was  urged 
by  that  body  itself.  The  difficulty  of  obtaining  such 
grant  of  power,  wras  aggravated  by  the  consideration 
that  it  was  to  be  invested  in  those  by  whom  it  was 
solicited,  and  was  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same 
degree,  to  abridge  the  power  of  those  by  whom  it  was 
to  be  granted. 

To  avoid  these  obstacles  it  occurred  to  Mr.  Madi 
son  that  the  agency  of  a  distinct,  delegated  body, 
having  no  invidious  interest  of  its  own,  or  of  its  mem 
bers,  might  be  better  adapted,  deliberately  to  discuss 
the  deficiencies'^  the  federal  -compact,  than  the  body 
itself  by  whom  it  was  administered.  The  friends  with 
whom  he  consulted  in  the  Legislature  of  Virginia, 
concurred  with  him  in  these  opinions,  and  the  motion 
for  the  appointment  of  Commissioners  to  consider  of 
the  state  of  trade,  in  the  confederacy  suggested  by 
him,  was  made  in  the  Legislature  by  his  friend,  Mr. 
Tyler,  and  carried  by  the  weight  of  his  opinions,  and 
the  exertion  of  his  influence,  without  opposition. 

This  proposition  was  made  and  Commissioners  were 
appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  on  the  21st 
of  January,  1786.  The  Governor  of  the  Common 
wealth,  Edmund  Randolph,  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  delegation  from  the  State.  Mr.  Madison  and  six 
others,  men  of  the  first  character  and  influence  in  the 


30  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

State,  were  the  other  Commissioners.  The  meeting 
was  held  at  Annapolis  in  September,  and  two  com 
missioners  from  New  York,  three  from  New  Jersey, 
one  from  Pennsylvania,  three  from  Delaware,  and 
three  from  Virginia,  constituted  the  whole  number  of 
this  Convention.  Five  States  only  were  represented, 
and  among  them,  Pennsylvania  by  a  single  member. 
Four  States,  among  whom  was  Maryland,  the  very 
State  within  which  the  Assembly  was  held,  had  not 
even  appointed  Commissioners,  and  the  deputies  from 
four  others,  among  whom  was  our  own  beloved, 
native  Commonwealth,  suffering,  even  then,  the  awful 
calamity  of  a  civil  war,  generated  by  the  imbecility 
of  the  federal  compact  of  union,  did  not  even  think  it 
worth  while  to  give  their  attendance. 

Yet  even  in  that  Convention  of  Annapolis,  was  the 
germ  of  a  better  order  of  things.  The  Commission 
ers  elected  John  Dickinson,  of  Delaware,  their  chair 
man,  and  after  a  session  of  three  days,  agreed  upon  a 
report,  doubtless  drafted  by  M-r.  Madison, — addressed 
to  the  Legislatures  by  which  they  had  been  ap 
pointed,  and  copies  of  which  were  transmitted  to  the 
other  State  Legislatures  and  to  Congress. 

In  this  report  they  availed  themselves  of  a  sugges 
tion  derived  from  the  powers  which  the  Legislature 
of  New  Jersey  had  conferred  upon  their  Commission 
ers,  and  which  contemplated  a  more  enlarged  revision 
of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  ;  and  they  urgently 
recommended  that  a  second  convention  of  delegates, 
,to  which  all  the  States  should  be  invited  to  appoint 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  31 

Commissioners,  should  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  on  the 
second  Monday  of  the  next  May,  for  a  general  re-, 
visal  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Federal  Government, 
to  render  it  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the  Union, 
and  to  report  to  Congress  an  act,  which,  when  agreed 
to  by  them  and  confirmed  by  all  the  State  Legisla 
tures,  should  effectually  provide  for  the  same.  In 
this  report  first  occurred  the  use  of  the  terms  Consti 
tution  of  the  Federal  Government  as  applied  to  the 
United  States — and  the  sentiment  was  avowed  that 
it  should  be  made  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of 
the  Union.  There  was,  however,  yet  no  proposal 
for  recurring  to  the  great  body  of  the  people. 

The  recommendation  of  the  report  was  repeated  by 
Congress  without  direct  reference  to  it,  upon  a  reso 
lution  offered  by  the  delegation  of  Massachusetts, 
founded  upon  a  proviso  in  the  Articles  of  Confede 
ration  and  upon  instructions  from  the  State  of  New 
York  to  their  delegates  in  Congress,  and  upon  the 
suggestion  of  several  States.  The  Convention  as 
sembled  accordingly  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  9th  of 
May,  1787. 

In  most  of  the  inspirations  of  genius,  there  is  a 
simplicity,  which,  -^vhen  they  are  familiarized  to  the 
general  understanding  of  men  by  their  effects,  de 
tracts  from  the  opinion  of  their  greatness.  That 
the  people  of  the  British  Colonies,  who,  by  their 
united  counsels  and  energies  had  achieved  theif 
independence,  should  continue  to  be  one  people, 
and  constitute  a  nation  under  the  form  of  one  or- 


32  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

ganized  government,  was  an  idea,  in  itself  so  simple, 
and  addressed  itself  at  once  so  forcibly  to  the  reason, 
to  the  imagination,  and  to  the  benevolent  feelings  of 
all,  that  it  can  scarcely  be  supposed  to  have  escaped 
the  mind  of  any  reflecting  man  from  Maine  to  Geor 
gia.  It  was  the  dictate  of  nature.  But  no  sooner 
was  it  conceived  than  it  was  met  by  obstacles  in 
numerable  to  the  general  mass  of  mankind.  They 
resulted  from  the  existing  social  institutions,  diver 
sified  among  the  parties  to  the  projected  national 
union,  and  seeming  to  render  it  impracticable.  There 
were  chartered  rights  for  the  maintenance  of  which 
the  war  of  the  revolution  itself  had  first  been  waged. 
There  were  State  Sovereignties,  corporate  feudal 
baronies,  tenacious  of  their  own  liberty,  impatient  of 
a  superor,  and  jealous  and  disdainful  of  a  paramount 
Sovereign,  even  in  the  whole  democracy  of  the 
nation.  There  were  collisions  of  boundary  and  of 
proprietary  right  westward  in  the  soil — southward,  in 
its  cultivator.  In  fine  the  diversities  of  interests, 
of  opinions,  of  manners,  of  habits,  and  even  of  ex 
traction  were  so  great,  that  the  plan  of  constituting 
them  one  People,  appears  not  to  have  occurred  to 
any  of  the  members  of  the  Convention  before  they 
were  assembled  together. 

It  was  earnestly  contested  in  the  Convention  itself. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  members  adhered  to  the 
principle  of  merely  revising  the  articles  of  the  Con 
federation  and  of  vesting  the  powers  of  Government 
in  the  confederate  Congress.  A  proposition  to  that 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  33 

effect  was  made  by  Mr.  Patterson  of  New  Jersey,  in 
a  series  of  Resolutions,  offered  as  a  substitute  for 
those  of  Mr.  Randolph,  immediately  after  the  first 
discussions  upon  them. 

Nearly  four  months  of  anxious  deliberation  were 
employed  by  an  assembly  composed  of  the  men  who 
had  been  the  most  distinguished  for  their  services 
civil  and  military,  in  conducting  the  country  through 
the  arduous  struggles  of  the  revolution — of  men  who 
to  the  fire  of  genius  added  all  the  lights  of  ex 
perience,  and  were  stimulated  by  the  impulses  at  once 
of  ardent  patriotism  and  of  individual  ambition,  as 
piring  to  that  last  and  most  arduous  labor  of  con 
stituting  a  nation  destined  in  after  times  to  present  a 
model  of  Government  for  all  the  civilized  nations 
of  the  earth.  On  the  17th  of  September,  1787, 
they  reported. 

When  the  substance  of  their  work  was  gone 
through,  a  Committee  of  five  members,  of  whom  Mr. 
Madison  was  one,  was  appointed  to  revise  the  style, 
and  to  arrange  the  Articles  which  had  been  agreed  to 
by  the  Convention ;  and  this  Committee  was  after 
wards  charged  with  the  preparation  of  an  address  to, 
the  People  of  the  United  States. 

The  address  to  the  People  was  reported  in  the  form 
of  a  letter  from  Washington,  the  President  of  the 
Convention,  to  the  President  of  Congress;  a  Letter, 
admirable  for  the  brevity  and  the  force  with  which  it 
presents  the  concentrated  argument  for  the  great 
change  of  their  condition,  which  they  called  upon 


34  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

their  fellow  citizens  to  sanction.  And  this  Letter, 
together  with  an  addition  of  two  or  three  lines  in  the 
preamble,  reported  by  the  same  Committee,  did 
indeed  comprise  the  most  powerful  appeal  that  could 
sway  the  heart  of  man,  ever  exhibited  to  the  contem 
plation  and  to  the  hopes  of  the  human  race. 

It  did  not  escape  the  notice  or  the  animadversion 
of  the  adversaries  to  this  new  national  organization. 
They  were  at  the  time  when  the  Constitution  was 
promulgated,  perhaps  more  numerous,  and  scarcely 
less  respectable,  than  the  adherents  to  the  Consti 
tution  themselves.  They  had  also,  in  the  manage 
ment  of  the  discussion,  almost  all  the  popular  side  of 
the  argument. 

Government  in  the  first  and  most  obvious  aspect 
which  it  assumes,  is  a  restraint  upon  human  action, 
and  as  such,  a  restraint  upon  Liberty.  The  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States  was  intended  to  be  a 
government  of  great  energy,  and  of  course  of  ex 
tensive  restriction  not  only  upon  individual  Liberty 
but  upon  the  corporate  action  of  States  claiming  to 
be  Sovereign  and  Independent.  The  Convention  had 
been  aware  that  such  restraints  upon  the  People 
could  be  imposed  by  no  earthly  power  other  than 
the  People  themselves.  They  were  aware  that  to 
induce  the  People  to  impose  upon  themselves  such 
binding  ligaments,  motives  not  less  cogent  than  those 
which  form  the  basis  of  human  association  were 
indispensably  necessary.  That  the  first  principle  of 
politics  must  be  indissolubly  linked  with  the  first 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  35 

principles  of  morals.  They  assumed  therefore  the 
existence  of  a  People  of  the  United  States,  and  made 
them  declare  the  Constitution  to  be  their  own  work — 
speaking  in  the  first  person  and  saying  We,  the  People 
of  the  United  States,  do  ordain  and  establish  this 
Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America — and 
then  the  allegation  of  motives — to  form  a  more 
perfect  union,  to  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquility,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote 
the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of 
Liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity.  These  are 
precisely .  the  purposes  for  which  it  has  pleased 
the  Author  of  nature  to  make  man  a  sociable  being, 
and  has  blended  into  one  his  happiness  with  that 
of  his  kind. 

So  cogent  were  these  motives  and  so  forcibly  were 
they  compressed  within  the  compass  of  this  preamble, 
and  in  the  Letter  from  President  Washington  to  the 
President  of  Congress,  that  this  body  immediately 
and  unanimously  adopted  the  resolutions  of  the 
Convention,  recommending  that  the  projected  Con 
stitution  should  be  transmitted  to  the  Legislatures 
of  the  several  States,  to  be  by  them  submitted  to 
Conventions  of  Delegates,  to  be  chosen  in  each  State 
by  the  People  thereof,  under  the  recommendation 
of  its  Legislature,  for  their  assent  and  ratification. 
This  unanimity  of  Congress  is  perhaps  the  strongest 
evidence  ever  manifested  of  the  utter  contempt  into 
which  the  Articles  of  Confederation  had  fallen.  The 
Congress  which  gave  its  unanimous  sanction  to  the 


36  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MADISON. 

measure  was  itself  to  be  annihilated  by  the  Consti 
tution  thus  proposed.  The  Articles  of  Confederation 
were  to  be  annihilated  with  it.  Yet  all  the  members 
of  the  Congress  so  ready  to  sanction  its  dissolution, 
had  been  elected  by  virtue  of  those  Articles  of  Con 
federation — to  them  the  faith  of  all  the  States  had 
been  pledged,  and  they  had  expressly  prescribed  that 
no  alteration  of  them  should  be  adopted,  but  by  the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  States. 

Thus  far  the  proposal  first  made  by  Mr.  Madison  in 
the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  for  the  new  political 
organization  of  the  Union,  had  been  completely  suc 
cessful.  A  People  of  the  United  States  was  formed. 
A  Government,  Legislative,  Executive  and  Judicial 
was  prepared  for  them,  and  by  a  daring  though 
unavoidable  anticipation,  had  been  declared  by  its 
authors  to  be  the  Ordinance  of  that  people  themselves. 
It  could  be  made  so  only  by  their  adoption.  But  the 
greatest  labor  still  remained  to  be  performed.  The 
people  throughout  the  Union  were  suffering,  but  a 
vast  proportion  of  them  were  unaware  of  the  cause 
of  the  evil  that  was  preying  upon  their  vitals.  A 
still  greater  number  were  bewildered  in  darkness 
in  search  of  a  remedy,  and  there  were  not  wanting 
those  among  the  most  ardent  and  zealous  votaries  of 
Freedom  who,  instead  of  adding  to  the  powers  of  the 
general  Congress,  inefficient  and  imbecile  as  they 
were,  inclined  rather  to  redeem  the  confederacy  from 
the  forlorn  condition  to  which  it  was  reduced,  by 
stripping  the  Congress  of  the  pittance  of  power  which 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  37 

they  possessed.  In  the  indulgence  of  this  spirit  the 
Delegates  from  our  own  Commonwealth  of  Massa 
chusetts,  by  -express  instructions  from  their  con 
stituents,  moved  a  Resolution  that  the  election  and 
acceptance  of  any  person  as  a  member  of  Congress 
should  forever  thereafter  be  deemed  to  disqualify  such 
person  from  being  elected  by  Congress  to  any  office 
of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  for  the 
term  for  which  he  should  have  been  elected  a  member 
of  that  body. 

This  morhuj_Jp.rmr  of  pa.t.rnnnorft;  this  pair^^ 
anxiety  lest  corruption^  should  creep  in  by  appoint 
ments  of  members  of  Congress  to  office  under  the 
authorities  of  the  Union,  has  often  been  reproduced 
down  even  to  recent  days  under  the  present  Go 
vernment  of  the  Union.  Upon  the  theories  or  the 
practice  of  the  present  age,  it  is  not  the  time  or 
the  place  here  to  comment.  But  we  cannot  forbear 
to  remark  upon  the  solicitude  of  our  venerable  fore 
fathers  in  this  commonwealth,  to  remedy  the  imper 
fection  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the  abuses  of 
power,  by  the  Congress  of  that  day,  and  the  avenues 
to  corruption  by  the  appointment  of  their  members  to 
office,  when  we  consider  that  under  the  exclusions 
thus  proposed,  Washington  could  never  have  com 
manded  the  armies  of  the  United  States  :  That 
neither  Franklin,  John  Adams,  Arthur  Lee,  John  Jay, 
Henry  Laurens,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Robert  Morris, 
nor  Robert  R.  Livingston  could  have  served  them  as 
ministers  abroad,  or  in  any  ministerial  capacity  at 


38  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

home — and  when  we  reflect  that  two  public  Ministers 
in  Europe  with  their  Secretaries,  one  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  one  Secretary  of  War  and  three 
Commissioners  of  an  empty  Treasury,  constituted  the 
whole  list  of  lucrative  offices,  civil  and  military,  which 
they  had  to  bestow. 

This  incident  may  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the 
difficulties  which  were  yet  to  be  encountered  before 
the  People  of  the  United  States  could  be  prevailed 
upon  to  fix  their  seal  of  approbation  upon  a  constitu 
tion  issued  in  their  name,  and  which  granted  to  a 
central  Government,  destined  to  rule  over  them  all, 
powers  of  energy  surpassing  those  of  the  most  ab 
solute  monarchy,  and  forming,  in  the  declared  opinion 
of  Jefferson,  the  strongest  Government  in  the  world. 

In  a  people  inhabiting  so  great  an  extent  of  Ter 
ritory,  the  difficulties  to  be  surmounted  before  they 
could  be  persuaded  to  adopt  this  Constitution,  were 
aggravated  both  by  their  dissensions  and  by  their 
agreements — by  the  diversity  of  their  interests  and 
the  community  of  their  principles.  The  collision  of 
interests  strongly  tended  to  alienate  them  from  one 
another,  and  all  were  alike  imbued  with  a  deep  aver 
sion  to  any  unnecessary  grant  of  power.  The  Con 
stitution  was  no  sooner  promulgated  than  it  was  as 
sailed  in  the  public  journals  from  all  quarters  of  the 
Union. 

The  Convention  was  boldly  and  not  unjustly 
charged  with  having  transcended  their  powers,  and 
the  Congress  of  the  Confederation,  were  censured  in 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  39 

no  measured  terms  for  having  even  referred  it  to  the 
State  Legislatures,  to  be  submitted  to  the  consideration 
of  Conventions  of  the  People. 

The  Congress  of  the  Confederation  were  in  session 
at  New  York.  Several  of  its  members  had  been  at 
the  same  time  members  of  the  Convention  at  Phila 
delphia — and  among  them  were  James  Madison  and 
Alexander  Hamilton.  John  Jay  was  not  then  a 
member  of  Congress  nor  had  he  been  a  member  of 
the  Convention — but  he  was  the  Secretary  of  Con 
gress  for  foreign  affairs  and  had  held  that  office,  from 
the  time  of  his  return  from  Europe,  immediately  after 
the  conclusion  of  the  definitive  Treaty  of  Peace. 
He  had  therefore  felt  in  its  most  painful  form  the  im 
becility  of  the  Confederacy  of  which  he  was  the 
minister,  equally  incapable  of  contracting  engage 
ments  with  foreign  powers  with  the  consciousness  of 
the  power  to  fulfil  them,  or  of  energy  to  hold  foreign 
nations  to  the  responsibility  of  performing  the  engage 
ments  contracted  on  their  part  with  the  United  States. 
New  York,  then  the  central  point  of  the  confederacy, 
was  the' spot  whence  the  most  effective  impression 
could  be  made  by  cool,  dispassionate  argument  on  the 
public  mind  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest  of 
excitement  throughout  the  country  occasioned  by  the 
sudden  and  unexpected  promulgation  of  a  system  so 
totally  different  from  that  of  the  Confederation,  these 
three  persons  undertook  in  concert,  by  a  series  of 
popular  Essays  published  in  the  daily  journals  of  the 
time,  to  review  the  system  of  the  Confederation,  to 


40  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

demonstrate  its  inaptitude  not  only  to  all  the  functions 
of  Government,  but  even  to  the  preservation  of  the 
Union,  and  the  necessity  of  an  establishment  at  least 
as  energetic  as  the  proposed  Constitution  to  the  very 
existence  of  the  United  States  as  a  Nation. 

The  papers  under  the  signature  of  Publius  were 
addressed  to  the  People  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  the  introductory  Essay,  written  by  Hamilton, 
declared  the  purpose  to  discuss  all  topics  of  interest 
connected  with  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution. 
The  utility  of  the  Union  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
People  :  The  insufficiency  of  the  Confederation  to 
preserve  that  Union  :  The  necessity  of  an  energetic 
Government :  The  conformity  of  the  proposed  Con 
stitution  to  the  true  principles  of  a  republican  Go 
vernment  :  Its  analogy  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  the  additional  security  which 
its  adoption  would  afford  to  the  preservation  of  re 
publican  Government,  to  liberty  and  to  property. 
The  fulfilment  of  this  purpose  was  accomplished  in 
eighty-six  numbers,  frequently  since  republished,  and 
now  constituting  a  classical  work  in  the  English  lan 
guage,  and  a  commentary  upon  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  of  scarcely  less  authority  than  the 
Constitution  itself.  Written  in  separate  numbers,  and 
in  very  unequal  proportions,  it  has  not  indeed  that 
entire  unity  of  design,  or  execution  which  might  have 
been  expected,  had  it  been  the  production  of  a  single 
mind.  Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  papers  were  written 
by  Mr.  Hamilton.  Nearly  one  third  by  Mr.  Madison, 
and  five  numbers  only  by  Mr.  Jay. 


LIFE    OF 

In  the  distribution  of  the  several  subjects  embraced 
in  the  plan  of  the  work,  the  inducements  to  adopt  the 
Constitution  arising  from  the  relations  of  the  Union 
with  foreign  nations,  were  presented  by  Mr.  Jay  ;  the 
defects  of  the  Confederation  in  this  respect  were  so 
obvious,  and  the  evil  consequences  flowing  from  them, 
were  so  deeply  and  universally  felt,  that  the  task  was 
of  comparative  ease,  and  brevity,  with  that  of  the  oth 
er  two  contributors.  The  defects  of  the  Confedera 
tion  were  indeed  a  copious  theme  for  them  all;  and  in 
the  analysis  of  them,  for  the  exposition  of  their  bear 
ing  on  the  Legislation  of  the  several  States,  the  two 
principal  writers  treated  the  subject  so  as  to  interlace 
with  each  other.  The  18th,  19th,  and  20th  numbers 
are  the  joint  composition  of  both.  In  examining  close 
ly  the  points  selected  by  these  two  great  co-operators 
to  a  common  cause,  and  their  course  of  argument  for 
its  support,  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  diversity 
of  genius  and  of  character  which  afterwards  separated 
them  so  widely  from  each  other  on  questions  of  politi 
cal  interest,  affecting  the  construction  of  the  Constitu 
tion  which  they  so  ably  defended,  and  so  strenuously 
urged  their  countrymen  to  adopt.  The  ninth  and^tenth1^ 
numbers  are  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  the  ntili-  ^ 
ty  of_jli£i-JJjaijOiL.  as  &  safeguard  agaJAsL-ikinigsllc  .ffl-O.- 
tion  jjid^ ins urre cti on.  They  are  rival  dissertations  up 
on  faction  and  its  remedy.  The  propensity  of  all  free 
governments  to  the  convulsions  of  faction  is  admitted 
by  both.  The  advantages  of  a  confederated  republic 
of  extensive  dimensions  to  control  this  admitted  and 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

unavoidable  evil,  are  insisted  on  with  equal  energy  in 
both — but  the  ninth  number,  written  by  Hamilton, 
»  draws  its  principal  illustrations  from  the  history  of  the 
^JT  Grecian  Republics  ;  while  the  tenth,  written  by  Mad 
ison,  searches  for  the  disease  and  for  its  remedies  in 
the  nature  and  the  faculties  of  Man.  There  is  in  each 
of  these  numbers  a  disquisition  'of  critical  and  some 
what  metaphysical  refinement.  That  of  Hamilton, 
upon  a  distinction,  which  he  pronounces  more  subtle 
than  accurate,  between  a  confederacy  and  consolidation 
of  the  States.  That  of  Madison  upon  the  difference 
between  a  Democracy  and  a  Republic,  as  differently  af 
fected  by  Faction — meaning  by  a  Democracy,  a  Gov 
ernment  administered  by  the  People  themselves,  and 
by  a  Republic,  a  Government  by  elective  representa 
tion.  These  distinctions  in  both  cases  have,  in  our  ex 
perience  of  the  administration  of  the  general  Govern 
ment,  assumed  occasional  importance,  and  formed  the 
elements  of  warm  and  obstinate  party  collisions. 

The  fourteenth  number  of  the  Federalist,  the  next 
in  the  series  written  by  Mr.  Madison,  is  an  elaborate 
answer  to.  an  objection  which  had  been  urged  against 
the  Constitution,  drawn  from  the  extent  of  country 
then  comprised  within  the  United  States.  From  the 
deep  anxiety  pervading  the  whole  of  this  paper,  and 
a  most  eloquent  and  pathetic  appeal  'to  the  spirit  of 
union,  with  which  it  concludes,  it  is  apparent  that  the 
objection  itself  was  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,  of  the 
most  formidable  and  plausible  character.  He  en 
counters  it  with  all  the  acuteness  of  his  intellect  and 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  43 

all  the  energy  of  his  heart.  His  chief  argument  is  a 
recurrence  to  his  distinction  between  a  Republic  and 
a  Democracy — and  next  to  that  by  an  accurate  de 
finition  of  the  boundaries  within  which  the  United 
States  were  then  comprised.  The  range  between  the 
31st  and  45th  degree  of  North  Latitude,  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Mississippi — he  contends  that  suck  an  extent 
of  territory,  with  the  great  improvements  which  were 
to  be  expected  in  the  facilities  of  communication 
between  its  remotest  extremes,  was  not  incompatible 
with  the  existence  of  a  confederated  republic — or  at 
least  that  from  the  vital  interest  of  the  people  of  the 
Union,  and  of  the  Liberties  of  mankind  in  the  success 
of  the  American  Revolution,  it  was  worthy  of  an 
experiment  yet  untried  in  the  annals  of  the  world. 

The  question  to  what  extent  of  territory  a  confede 
rate  Republic,  under  one  general  government  may  be 
adopted,  without  breaking  into  fragments  by  its  own 
weight,  or  settling  into  a  monarchy,  subversive  of  the 
liberties  of  the  people,  is  yet  of  transcendant  interest, 
and  of  fearful  portent  to  the  people  of  the  Union. 
The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  formed  for 
a  people  inhabiting  a  territory  confined  to  narrow 
bounds,  compared  with  those  which  can  scarcely  be 
said  to  confine  them  now.  The  acquisition  of  Loui 
siana  and  of  Florida  have  more  than  doubled  our 
domain  ;  and  our  settlements  and  our  treaties  have 
already  removed  our  Western  boundaries  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  A  colonial  es 
tablishment  of  immense  extent  still  hangs  upon  our 


44  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

Northern  borders,  and  another  confederate  Republic, 
seems  to  offer  the  most  alluring  spoils  to  our  ambition 
and  avarice  at  the  South.  The  idea  of  embracing  in 
one  confederated  government  the  whole  continent  of 
North  America,  has,  at  this  day,  nothing  chimerical  in 
its  conception,  and  long  before  a  lapse  of  time  equal 
to  that  which  has  past  since  the  14th  number  of  the 
Federalist  was  written,  may  require  the  invincible 
spirit  and  the  uncompromising  energy  of  our  re 
volutionary  struggle  for  its  solution. 

The  other  papers  of  the  Federalist,  written  by  Mr. 
Madison,  are  from  the  37th  to  the  58th  number 
inclusive.  They  relate  to  the  difficulties  which  the 
Convention  had  experienced  in  the  formation  of  a 
proper  plan.  To  its  conformity  with  Republican  prin 
ciples,  with  an  apologetic  defence  of  the  body  for 
transcending  their  powers.  To  a  general  view  of  the 
powers  vested  by  the  plan  in  the  general  government, 
and  a  comparative  estimate  of  the  reciprocal  influence 
of  the  general  and  of  the  State  governments  with 
each  other.  They  contain  a  laborious  investigation 

..of  the  maxims  which  require  a  separation  of  the 
departments  of  power,  and  a  discussion  of  the  means 

*  for  giving  to  it  practical  efficacy — and  they  close  with 
an  examination,  critical  and  philosophical,  of  the  or 
ganization  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States — with  reference  to 
the  qualifications  of  the  electors  and  the  elected — to 
the  term  of  service  of  the  members  ;  to  the  ratio  of 
representation ;  to  the  total  number  of  the  body  ;  and 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  45 

to  the  expected  subsequent  augmentation  of  the  mem 
bers — and  here  he  met  and  refuted  an  objection  to 
the  plan  founded  upon  its  supposed  tendency  to  ele 
vate  the  few  above  the  many.  These  were  the  topics 
discussed  by  James  Madison,  and  in  leaving  to  his 
illustrious  associate  the  development  of  the  other  De 
partments  of  the  Senate,  of  the  Executive,  of  the 
Judiciary,  and  the  bearing  of  the  whole  system  upon 
the  militia,  the  commerce  and  revenues,  the  military 
and  naval  establishments,  and  to  the  public  economy, 
it  was  doubtless  because  both  from  inclination  and 
principle  he  preferred  the  consideration  of  those  parts 
of  the  instrument  which  bore  upon  popular  right,  and 
the  freedom  of  the  citizens,  to  that  of  the  aristocratic 
and  monarchical  elements  of  the  whole  fabric. 

The  papers  of  the  Federalist  had  a  powerful,  but 
limited  influence  upon  the  public  mind.  The  Constitu 
tion  was  successively  submitted  to  the  Conventions  of 
the  People,  in  each  of  the  thirteen  States,  and  in  al 
most  every  one  of  them  was  debated  against  opposi 
tions  of  deep  feeling,  and  strong  party  excitement.  The 
authors  of  the  Federalist  were  again  called  to  buckle 
on  their  armour  in  defence  of  their  plan.  The  Con 
vention  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  met  in 
June,  1788,  nine  months  after  the  Constitution  had  been 
promulgated.  It  had  already  been  ratified  by  seven  of 
the  States,  and  New  Hampshire,  at  an  adjourned  ses 
sion  of  her  Convention,  adopted  it  while  the  Conven 
tion  of  Virginia  were  in  session.  The  assent  of  that 
State  was  therefore  to  complete  the  number  of  nine, 


40  LIFE    OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

which  the  Constitution  itself  had  provided  should  be 
sufficient  for  undertaking  its  execution  between  the 
ratifying  States.  A  deeper  interest  was  then  involv 
ed  in  the  decision  of  Virginia,  than  in  that  of  any  oth 
er  member  of  the  Confederacy,  and  in  no  State  had 
the  opposition  to  the  plan  been  so  deep,  so  extensive, 
so  formidable  as  there.  Two  of  her  citizens,  second 
only  to  Washington  by  the  weight  of  their  characters, 
the  splendor  of  their  public  services  and  the  reputa 
tion  of  their  genius  and  talents,  Patrick  Henry,  the 
first  herald  of  the  Revolution  in  the  South,  as  James 
Otis  had  been  at  the  North,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  the 
author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the 
most  intimate  and  confidential  friend  of  Madison  him 
self,  disapproved  the  Constitution.  Jefferson  was  in 
deed  at  that  time  absent  from  the  State  and  the  coun 
try,  as  the  representative  of  the  United  States  at  the 
Court  of  France.  His  objections  to  the  Constitution 
were  less  fervent  and  radical.  Patrick  Henry's  oppo 
sition  was  to  the  whole  plan,  and  to  its  fundamental 
principle  the  change  from  a  confederation  of  Indepen 
dent  States,  to  a  complicated  government,  partly  fed 
eral,  and  partly  national.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  Convention  ;  and  there  it  was  that  Mr.  Mad 
ison  was  destined  to  meet  and  encounter,  and  over 
come  the  all  but  irresistible  power  of  his  eloquence, 
and  the  inexhaustible  resources  of  his  gigantic  mind. 

The  debates  in  the  Virginia  Convention  furnish  an 
exposition  of  the  principles  of  the  Constitution,  and  a 
Commentary  upon  its  provisions  not  inferior  to  the  pa- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  47 

pers  of  the  Federalist.  Patrick  Henry  pursued  his 
hostility  to  the  system  into  alTits  details;  objecting  not 
only  to  the  Preamble  and  the  first  Article,  but  to  the 
Senate,  to  the  President,  to  the  Judicial  Power,  to 
the  treaty  making  power,  to  the  control  given  to  Con 
gress  over  the  militia,  and 


of_a_^ill_of_Rights — seconded  and  sustained  with  great 
ability  by  George  Mason,  who  had  been  a  member  of 
the  Convention  which  formed  the  Constitution,  by 
James  Monroe  and  William  Grayson,  there  was  not  a 
controvertible  point,  real  or  imaginary,  in  the  whole 
instrument  which  escaped  their  embittered  opposition; 
while  upon  every  point  Mr.  Madison  was  prepared  to 
meet  them,  with  cogent  argument,  with  intent  and  anx 
ious  feeling,  and  with  mild,  conciliatory  gentleness  of 
temper,  disarming  the  adversary  by  the  very  act  of 
seeming  to  decline  contention  with  him.  Mr.  Madi 
son  devoted  himself  particularly  to  the  task  of  an 
swering  and  replying  to  the  objections  of  Patrick  Hen 
ry,  following  him  step  by  step,  and  meeting  him  at  ev 
ery  turn.  His  principal  coadjutors  were  Governor 
Randolph,  Edmund  Pendleton,  the  President  of  the 
Convention,  John  Marshall,  George  Nicholas,  and  ^ 
Henry  Lee  of  Westmoreland.  Never  was  there  as 
sembled  in  Virginia  a  body  of  men,  of  more  surpas 
sing  talent,  of  bolder  energy,  or  of  purer  integrity 
than  in  that  Convention.  The  volume  of  their  de 
bates  should  be  the  pocket  and  the  pillow  companion 
of  every  youthful  American  aspiring  to  the  honor  of 
rendering  important  service  to  his  country;  and  there, 


48  LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

as  he  reads  aud  meditates,  will  he  not  fail  to  perceive 
the  steady,  unfaltering  mind  of  James  Madison,  march 
ing  from  victory  to  victory,  over  the  dazzling  but 
then  beclouded  genius  and  eloquence  of  Patrick  Henry. 

The  result  was  the  unconditional  ratification  by  a 
majority  of  only  eight  votes,  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  on  the  part  of  the  Commonwealth 
of  Virginia,  together  with  resolutions,  recommending 
sundry  amendments  to  supply  the  omission  of  a  Bill 
of  Rights.  The  example  for  this  had  been  first  set  by 
the  Convention  of  Massachusetts,  at  the  motion  of 
John  Hancock,  and  it  was  followed  by  several  other 
of  the  State  Conventions,  and  gave  occasion  to  the 
first  ten  Articles,  amendatory  of  the  Constitution  pre 
pared  by  the  first  Congress  of  the  United  States  and 
ratified  by  the  competent  number  of  the  State  Legis 
latures,  and  which  supply  the  place  of  a  Bill  of 
Rights. 

In  the  organization  of  the  Government  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  Washington,  the  leader  of  the  armies  of 
the  revolution,  the  President  of  the  Convention  which 
had  prepared  the  Constitution  for  the  acceptance  of 
the  People — first  in  War,  first  in  Peace,  and  first  in 
the  hearts  of  his  Countrymen,  was  by  their  unanimous 
voice  called  to  the  first  Presidency  of  the  United 
States.  For  his  assistance  in  the  performance  of  the 
functions  of  the  Executive  power,  after  the  institution 
by  Congress  of  the  chief  Departments,  he  selected 
Alexander  Hamilton  for  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  Thomas  Jefferson  for  that  of  Secreta- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  49 

ry  of  State.  Mr.  Madison  was  elected  one  of  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  first 
Congress  of  the  United  States  under  the  Constitution. 
The  Treasury  itself  was  to  be  organized.  Public 
credit,  prostrated  by  the  impotence  of  the  Confedera 
tion,  was  to  be  restored,  provision  was  to  be  made  for 
the  punctual  payment  of  the  public  debt — taxes  were 
to  be  levied — the  manufactures,  commerce  and  navi 
gation  of  the  Country  were  to  be  fostered  and  en 
couraged  ;  and  a  system  of  conduct  towards  foreign 
powers  was  to  be  adopted  and  maintained.  A  Ju 
diciary  system  was  also  to  be  instituted,  accommodat 
ed  to  the  new  tind  extraordinary  character  of  the 
general  Government.  A  permanent  seat  of  Govern 
ment  was  to  be  selected  and  subjected  to  the  exclusive 
jurisdiction  of  Congress  ;  and  the  definite  action  of 
each  of  the  Departments  of  the  Government  was  to 
be  settled  and  adjusted.  In  the  councils  of  President 
Washington,  divisions  of  opinion  between  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  and  Mr.  Hamilton  soon  widened  into  collisions  of 
principle  and  produced  mutual  personal  estrangement 
and  irritation.  In  the  formation  of  a  general  system 
of  policy  for  the  conduct  of  the  Administration  in 
National  concerns  at  home  and  abroad,  different 
views  were  taken  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Hamil 
ton,  which  Washington  labored  much,  but  with  little 
success,  to  conciliate.  Hamilton,  charged  by  suc 
cessive  calls  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  for 
reports  of  plans  for  the  restoration  of  public  credit  ; 
upon  the  protection  and  encouragement  of  Manufac- 


50  LIFE    OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

tures,  and  upon  a  National  Mint  and  Bank,  transmit 
ted  upon  each  of  those  subjects  reports  of  consum 
mate  ability,  and  proposed  plans  most  of  which  were 
adopted  by  Congress  almost  without  alteration.  The 
Secretary  of  State  during  the  same  period  made  re 
ports  to  Congress,  not  less  celebrated,  on  the  Fish 
eries,  on  the  system  of  commercial  regulations  most 
proper  to  be  established,  and  upon  weights  and  mea 
sures.  Negotiations  with  foreign  powers,  which  the 
inefficiency  of  the  confederation  had  left  in  a  lament 
able  and  languishing  condition,  humiliating  to  the 
national  honor  and  reputation,  were  resumed  and  rein- 
stituted,  and  by  long  and  complicated  correspondences 
with  the  Governments  of  Great  Britain,  Spain  and 
France,  the  National  character  was  in  the  first  term 
of  the  administration  of  Washington  redeemed  and 
exhibited  to  the  world  with  a  splendor  never  surpass 
ed,  and  wrhich  gave  to  the  tone  of  our  national  inter 
course  with  the  Sovereigns  of  the  earth  a  dignity,  a 
firmness,  a  candor  and  moderation,  which  shamed  the 
blustering  and  trickish  diplomacy  of  Europe  at  that 
day  and  shed  a  beam  of  unfading  glory  upon  the 
name  of  republican  America.  But  the  National  Con 
stitution  had  not  only  operated  as  if  by  enchantment 
a  most  auspicious  revolution  in  the  character  and  re 
putation  of  the  newly  independent  American  People  ; 
it  had  opened  new  avenues  to  honor  and  power  and 
fame,  and  new  prospects  to  individual  ambition. 

No  sooner  was  the  new  Government  organized  than 
the  eyes,   the  expectations  and  the   interests  and  pas- 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  51 

sions  of  men  turned  to  the  designation  of  the  succes 
sion  to  the  Presidency,  when  the  official  term  of 
Washington  should  be  completed.  His  own  intention 
was  to  retire  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  four  years 
allotted  to  the  service.  The  candidates  of  the  North 
and  South,  supported  by  the  geographical  sympathies 
of  their  respective  friends,  were  already  giving  rise 
to  the  agency  of  political  combinations.  The  North 
ern  candidate  was  not  yet  distinctly  designated,  but 
before  the  expiration  of  the  first  Congress,  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  was  the  only  intended  candidate  of  the  South. 

The  Protection  of  Manufactures,  the  restoration  of 
public  credit,  the  recovery  of  the  securities  of  the 
public  debt  from  a  state  of  depreciation  little  short  of 
total  debasement,  and  the  facilities  of  exchange  and 
of  circulation  furnished  by  the  establishment  of  a 
National  Bank,  were  of  far  deeper  interest  to  the 
commercial  and  Atlantic  than  to  the  plantation  States. 
Mr.  Jefferson's  distrust  and  jealousy  of  the  powers 
granted  by  the  Constitution  followed  him  into  office, 
and  were  perhaps  sharpened  by  the  successful  exer 
cise  of  them,  under  the  auspices  of  a  rival  statesman  ; 
he  insisted  upon  a  rigid  construction  of  all  the  grants 
of  power — he  denied  the  Constitutional  power  of 
Congress  to  establish  Corporations,  and  especially  a 
National  Bank.  The  question  was  discussed  in  the 
Cabinet  Council  of  Washington,  and  written  opinions 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  of  Edmund  Randolph,  then  At 
torney  General,  against  the  Constitutional  power  of 
Congress  to  establish  a  Bank,  were  given.  With 


52  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

these  opinions,  Mr.  Madison  then  concurred.  Other 
questions  of  justice  and  expediency,  connected  with 
the  funding  system  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  gave  rise  to 
warm  and  acrimonious  debates  in  Congress,  and  ming 
ling  with  the  sectional  divisions  of  the  Union,  and 
with  individual  attachments  to  men,  gave  an  impulse 
and  direction  to  party  spirit  which  has  continued 
to  this  day,  and  however  modified  by  changes  of 
times,  of  circumstances,  and  of  men,  can  never  be 
wholly  extinguished.  Too  happy  should  I  be,  if  with 
a  voice  speaking  from  the  last  to  the  coming  genera 
tion  of  my  country,  I  could  effectually  urge  them  to 
seek,  in  the  temper  and  moderation  of  James  Madi 
son,  that  healing  balm  which  assuages  the  malignity 
of  the  deepest  seated  political  disease,  redeems  to  life 
the  rational  mind,  and  restores  to  health  the  incorpo 
rated  union  of  our  country,  even  from  the  brain  fever 
of  party  spirit. 

To  the  sources  of  dissensions  and  the  conflicts  of 
opinion  transmitted  from  the  confederation,  or  genera 
ted  by  the  organization  of  the  new  Government,  were- 
soon  added  the  confluent  streams  of  the  French  revo 
lution  and  its  complication  of  European  Wars.  There 
were  features  in  the  French  revolution  closely  resem- 
ling  our  own  ;  there  were  points  of  national  interest 
in  both  countries  well  adapted  to  harmonize  their  rela 
tions  with  each  other,  and  a  sentiment  of  gratitude 
rooted  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  People,  by  the 
recent  remembrance  of  the  benefits  derived  from  the 
alliance  with  France,  and  community  of  cause  against 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  53 

Britain,  engaged  all  our  sympathies  in  favor  of  the 
People  of  France,  subverting  their  own  Monarchy  ; 
and  when  her  War,  first  kindled  with  Austria  and 
Prussia,  spread  its  flames  to  Great  Britain,  the  partial 
ities  of  resentment  and  hatred,  deepening  the  tide  and 
stimulating  the  current  of  more  kindly  and  benevolent 
affections,  became  so  ardent  and  impetuous  that  there 
was  imminent  danger  of  the  country's  being  immedi 
ately  involved  in  the  War  on  the  side  of  France — a 
danger  greatly  aggravated  by  the  guaranty  to  France 
of  her  Islands  in  the  West  Indies.  The  subject  im 
mediately  became  a  cause  of  deliberation  in  the  Ex 
ecutive  Cabinet,  and  discordant  opinions  again  disclos 
ed  themselves  between  the  Secretary  of  State,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1793,  President  Washington 
submitted  to  his  Cabinet  thirteen  questions  with  regard 
to  the  measures  to  be  taken  by  him  in  consequence  of 
the  revolution  which  had  overthrown  the  French 
monarchy;  of  the  new  organization  of  a  republic  in 
that  country;  of  the  appointment  of  a  minister  from 
that  republic  to  the  United  States,  and  of  the  war, 
declared  by  the  National  Convention  of  France  against 
Great  Britain.  The  first  of  these  questions  was, 
whether  a  proclamation  should  issue  to  prevent  inter 
ferences  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the 
War  ]  Whether  the  proclamation  should  or  should 
not  contain  a  declaration  of  neutrality  ]  The  second 
was  whether  a  minister  from  the  republic  of  France 
should  be  received.  Upon  these  two  questions  the 


54  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

opinion  of  the  cabinet  was  unanimous  in  the  affirma 
tive — that  a  Proclamation  of  neutrality  should  issue 
and  that  the  minister  from  the  French  Republic  should 
be  received.  But  upon  all  the  other  questions,  the 
opinions  of  the  four  heads  of  the  Departments  were 
equally  divided.  They  were  indeed  questions  of  dif 
ficulty  and  delicacy  equal  to  their  importance.  No 
less  than  whether,  after  a  revolution  in  France  anni 
hilating  the  Government  with  which  the  treaties  of  al 
liance  and  of  commerce  had  been  contracted,  the  trea 
ties  themselves  were  to  be  considered  binding  as  be 
tween  the  nations;  and  particularly  whether  the  stipu 
lation  of  guaranty  to  France  of  her  possessions  in  the 
West  Indies,  was  binding  upon  the  United  States  to 
the  extent  of  imposing  upon  them  the  obligation  of  ta 
king  side  with  France  in  the  War.  As  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet  disagreed  in  their  opinions  upon  these 
questions,  and  as  therq  was  no  immediate  necessity  for 
deciding  them,  the  further  consideration  of  them  was 
postponed,  and  they  were  never  afterwards  resumed. 
While  these  discussions  of  the  Cabinet  of  Washing 
ton  were  held,  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  from  the 
French  republic  arrived  in  this  country.  He  had  been 
appointed  by  the  National  Convention  of  France 
which  had  dethroned,  and  tried,  and  sentenced  to 
death,  and  executed  Louis  the  X  Vlth,  abolished  the 
Monarchy,  and  proclaimed  a  republic  one  and  indi 
visible,  under  the  auspices  of  liberty,  equality  and  fra-" 
ternity,  as  thenceforth  the  Government  of  France. 
By  all  the  rest  of  Europe,  they  were  then  considered 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  55 

as  revolted  subjects  in  rebellion  against  their  Sover 
eign;  and  were  not  recognized  as  constituting  an  in 
dependent  Government. 

General  Hamilton  and  General  Knox  were  of  opin 
ion  that  the  Minister  from  France  should  be  condition 
ally  received,  with  the  reservation  of  the  question, 
whether  the  United  States  were  still  bound  to  fulfill 
the  stipulations  of  the  Treaties.  They  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  the  Treaties  themselves  were  annulled  by 
the  revolution  of  the  Government  in  France — an  opin 
ion  to  which  the  example  of  the  Revolutionary  Gov 
ernment  had  given  plausibility  by  declaring  some  of 
the  Treaties  made  by  the  abolished  Monarchy,  no  lon 
ger  binding  upon  the  nation.  Mr.  Hamilton  thought 
also,  that  France  had  no  just  claim  to  the  fulfilment  of 
the  stipulation  of  guaranty,  because  that  stipulation, 
and  the  whole  Treaty  of  Alliance  in  which  it  was  con 
tained  were  professedly,  and  on  the  face  of  them,  on 
ly  defensive,  while  the  War  which  the  French  Conven 
tion  had  declared  against  Great  Britain,  was  on  the 
part  of  France  offensive,  the  first  declaration  having 
been  issued  by  her — that  the  United  States  were  at 
,  all  events  absolved  from  the  obligation  of  the  guar 
anty  by  their  inability  to  perform  it,  and  that  under 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  the  interpreta 
tion  of  Treaties,  and  the  obligations  resulting  from 
them,  were  within  the  competency  of  the  Executive 
Department,  at  least  concurrently  with  the  Legisla 
ture.  It  does  not  appear  that  these  opinions  were  de 
bated  or  contested  in  the  Cabinet.  By  their  unani- 


56  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MfADISON. 

mous  advice  the  Proclamation  was  issued,  and  Ed 
mund  Charles  Genet  was  received  as  Minister  Pleni 
potentiary  of  the  French  Republic.  Thus  the  Execu 
tive  administration  did  assume  and  exercise  the  power 
of  recognising  a  revolutionary  foreign  Government  as 
a  legitimate  Sovereign  with  whom  the  ordinary  diplo 
matic  relations  wTere  to  be  entertained.  But  the  Pro 
clamation  contained  no  allusion  whatever  to  the  Trea 
ties  between  the  United  States  and  France,  nor  of 
course  to  the  Article  of  Guaranty  or  its  obligations. 

Whatever  doubts  may  have  been  entertained  by  a 
large  portion  of  the  people,  of  the  right  of  the  Exe 
cutive  to  acknowledge  a  new  and  revolutionary  go 
vernment,  not  recognized  by  any  other  Sovereign 
State,  or  of  the  sound  policy  of  receiving  without 
waiting  for  the  sanction  of  Congress,  a  minister  from 
a  republic  which  had  commenced  her  Career  by  put 
ting  to  death  the  king  whom  she  had  dethroned,  and 
which  had  rushed  into  war  with  almost  all  the  rest  of 
Europe,  no  manifestation  of  such  doubts  was  publicly 
made.  A  current  of  popular  favor  sustained  the 
French  Revolution,  at  that  stage  of  its  progress, 
which  nothing  could  resist,  and  far  from  indulging  any 
question  of  the  right  of  the  President  to  recognize  a 
new  revolutionary  government,  by  receiving  from  it 
the  credentials  which  none  but  Sovereigns  can  grant, 
the  American  People  would,  at  that  moment,  have 
scarcely  endured  an  instant  of  hesitation  on  the  part 
of  the  President,  which  should  have  delayed  for  an 
hour  the  reception  of  the  minister  from  the  Republic 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  57 

of  France.  But  the  Proclamation  enjoining  neu 
trality  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in 
directly  counteracted  the  torrent  of  partiality  in  favor 
of  France,  and  was  immediately  assailed  with  intem 
perate  violence  in  many  of  the  public  journals.  The 
right  of  the  Executive  to  issue  any  Proclamation  of 
neutrality  was  fiercely  and  pertinaciously  denied,  as  a 
usurpation  of  Legislative  authority,  and  in  that  par 
ticular  case  it  was  charged  with  forestalling  and  pre 
maturely  deciding  the  question  whether  the  United 
States  were  bound,  by  the  guaranty  to  France  of  her 
West  India  possessions  in  the  treaty  of  alliance,  to 
take  side  in  the  war  with  her  against  Great  Britain — 
and  with  deciding  it  against  France. 

Mr.  Jefferson  had  advised  the  Proclamation;  but 
he  had  not  considered  it  as  deciding  the  question  of 
the  guaranty.  The  government  of  the  French  Re 
public,  had  not  claimed  and  never  did  claim  the  per 
formance  of  the  guaranty.  But  so  strenuously  was 
the  right  of  the  President  to  issue  the  Proclamation 
contested,  that  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  first  adviser  of  the 
measure,  deemed  it  necessary  to  defend  it  inofficially 
before  the  public.  This  he  did  in  seven  successive 
papers  under  the  signature  of  Pacificus.  But  in 
defending  the  Proclamation,  he  appears  to  consider  it 
as  necessarily  involving  the  decision  against  the  obli 
gation  of  the  guaranty,  and  maintain  the  right  of  the 
Executive  so  to  decide.  Mr.  Madison,  perhaps  in 
some  degree  influenced  by  the  opinions  and  feelings 

of  his  long  cherished  and  venerated  friend,  Jefferson, 
3* 


58  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

was  already  harboring  suspicions  of  a  formal  design 
on  the  part  of  Hamilton,  and  of  the  federal  party  ge 
nerally,  to  convert  the  government  of  the  United 
States  into  a  monarchy  like  that  of  Great  Britain,  and 
thought  he  perceived  in  these  papers  of  Pacificus  the 
assertion  of  a  prerogative  in  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  engage  the  nation  in  war.  He  there 
fore  entered  the  lists  against  Mr.  Hamilton  in  the 
public  journals,  and  in  five  papers  under  the  signature 
of  Helvidius,  scrutinized  the  doctrines  of  Pacificus 
with  an  acuteness  of  intellect  never  perhaps  surpassed, 
and  with  a  severity  scarcely  congenial  to  his  natural 
disposition,  and  never  on  any  other  occasion  indulged. 
Mr.  Hamilton  did  not  reply  ;  nor  in  any  of  his  papers 
did  he  notice  the  animadversions  of  Helvidius.  But 
all  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  have  from  that 
time  exercised  the  right  of  yielding  and  withholding 
the  recognition  of  governments  consequent  upon  re 
volutions,  though  the  example  of  issuing  a  Proclama 
tion  of  neutrality  has  never  been  repeated.  The  re 
spective  powers  of  the  President  and  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  in  the  case  of*  war  with  foreign 
powers,  are  yet  undetermined.  Perhaps  they  can 
never  be  defined.  The  Constitution  expressly  gives 
to  Congress  the  power  of  declaring  war,  and  that  act 
can  of  course  never  be  performed  by  the  President 
alone.  But  war  is  often  made  without  being  declared. 
War  is  a  state  in  which  nations  are  placed  not  alone 
by  their  own  acts,  but  by  the  acts  of  other  nations. 
The  declaration  of  war  is  in  its  nature  a  legislative 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  59 

act,  but  the  conduct  of  war  is  and  must  be  executive. 
However  startled  we  may  be  at  the  idea  that  the 
Executive  Chief  Magistrate  has  the  power  of  involv 
ing  the  nation  in  war,  even  without  consulting  Con 
gress,  an  experience  of  fifty  years  has  proved  that  in 
numberless  cases  he  has  and  must  have  exercised  the 
powrer.  In  the  case  which  gave  rise  to  this  contro 
versy,  the  recognition  of  the  French  Republic  and 
the  reception  of  her  minister  might  have  been  regard 
ed  by  the  allied  powers  as  acts  of  hostility  to  them, 
and  they  did  actually  interdict  all  neutral  commerce 
with  France.  Defensive  war  must  necessarily  be 
among  the  duties  of  the  Executive  Chief  Magistrate. 
The  papers  of  Pacificus  and  Helvidius  are  among  the 
most  ingenious  and  profound  Commentaries  on  that 
most  important  part  of  the  Constitution,  the  distribu 
tion  of  the  Legislative  and  Executive  powers  incident 
to  war,  and  when  considered  as  supplementary  to  the 
joint  labors  of  Hamilton  and  Madison  in  the  Federal 
ist,  they  possess  a  deep  and  monitory  interest  to  the 
American  philosophical  Statesman.  The  Federalist 
exhibits  the  joint  efforts  of  two  powerful  minds  in 
promoting  one  great  common  object,  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  papers  of/: 
Pacificus  and  Helvidius  present  the  same  minds,  in 
collision  with  each  other,  exerting  all  their  energies  in 
conflict  upon  the  construction  of  the  same  instrument 
.which  they  had  so  arduously  labored  to  establish  ;  and 
it  is  remarkable  that  upon  the  points  in  the  papers  of 
Pacificus  most  keenly  contested  by  his  adversary,  the 


60  LIFE    OF    JAMES     MADISON. 

most  forcible  of  his  arguments  are  pointed  with  quo 
tations  from  the  papers  of  the  Federalist,  written  by 
Mr.  Hamilton. 

But  whether  in  conjunction  with  or  in  opposition  to 
each  other,  the  co-operation  or  the  encounter  of  intel 
lects  thus  exalted  and  refined,  controlled  by  that  mo 
deration  and  humanity,  which  have  hitherto  character 
ized  the  history  of  our  Union,  cannot  but  ultimately 
terminate  in  spreading  light  and  promoting  peace 
among  men.  Happy,  thrice  happy  the  people,  whose 
political  oppositions  and  conflicts  have  no  ultimate  ap- 
)  peal  but  to  their  own  jrejisoit;  of  whose  party  feuds 
/  the  only  conquests  are  of  argument,  and  whose  only 
--triumphs  are  of  the  mind.  In  other  ages  and' in  other 
regions  than  our  own,  the  question  of  the  respective 
powers  of  the  Legislature  and  of  the  Executive  with 
reference  to  war,  might  itself  have  been  debated  in, 
blood,  and  sent  numberless  victims  to  their  account  on 
the  battle-field  or  the  scaffold.  So  it  was  in  the  san 
guinary  annals  of  the  French  Revolution.  So  it  has 
been  and  yet  is  in  the  successive  revolutions  of  our 
South  American  neighbors.  May  that  merciful  Being 
who  has  hitherto  overruled  all  our  diversities  of  opin 
ion,  tempered  our  antagonizing  passions,  and  concilia 
ted  our  conflicting  interests,  still  preside  in  all  our 
councils,  and  in  the  tempests  of  our  civil  commotions 
still  ride  in  the  whirlwind  and  direct  the  storm. 

It  was  indeed  at  one  of  the  most  turbulent  and  tem 
pestuous  periods  of  human  history  that  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States  first  went  into  operation 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON,  61 

It  was  convulsed  not  only  by  the  convulsions  of  the 
old  world,  but  by  tumultuary  agitations  of  the  most 
alarming  character  and  tendency  from  within.  Such 
were  the  dangers  and  the  difficulties  with  which  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  from  the  first  mo 
ment  of  its  organization  under  Washington,  was  beset 
and  surrounded,  that  they  undoubtedly  led  him  to  the 
determination  to  withdraw  from  the  charge  and  re 
sponsibility  of  presiding  over  it,  at  as  early  a  period 
as  possible.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  he  was  pre 
vailed  upon  to -postpone  the  execution  of  this\desig^i 
till  the  expiration  of.  a  second  term  of  -service;  but  so  , 
radically  different  were  the  opinions  and  the  systems 
of  policy  of  Washington's  two  principal  advisers,  es 
pecially  with  reference  to  the  external  relations  of  the 
United  States,  that  he  was  unable  to  retain  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  first  term  their  united  assistance  in  his 
Cabinet.  In  the  struggle  to  maintain  the  neutrality 
which  he  had  proclaimed,  and  in  the  festering  inflam 
mation  of  interests  and  passions,  gathering  with  the 
progress  of  the  French  revolution,  he  coincided  more 
in  judgment  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  than 
with  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  they  successively 
retired  from  their  offices,  in  which  each  of  them  had 
rendered  the  most  important  services,  and  contributed 
to  raise  the  Country  and  its  Government  high  in  the 
estimation  of  the  world,  but  unfortunately  without  be 
ing  able  to  harmonise,  and  finally  even  to  co-operate 
with  each  other. 

Mr.   Jefferson's  retirement  was   first  in  order  ;  it 


62  LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

was  voluntary,  but  under  circumstances  of  dissatis 
faction  at  the  prevalence  of  the  Councils  of  his  rival 
in  the  Cabinet — and  under  irritated  prepossessions  of 
a  deliberate  design,  in  Hamilton,  and  of  all  the  leading 
supporters  of  Washington's  administration,  to  shape 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  into  a  monarchy 
like  that  of  Great  Britain.  This  exasperated  feeling, 
nourished  by  the  political  controversy  then  blazing  in 
all  its  fury  in  the  war  between  France  and  the  mo 
narchies  of  Europe,  gradually  became  the  main  spring 
of  the  opposition  to  Washington's  administration  ;  an 
opposition  which  from  that  time  looked  to  Jefferson  as 
their  leader  and  head.  This  opposition,  fomented  by 
the  unprincipled  injustice  of  both  the  belligerent 
European  powers,  and  especially  by  the  abandoned 
profligacy  of  the  directorial  Government  of  France, 
continued  and  increased  until  in  the  last  year  of 
Washington's  administration,  a  majority  if  not  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  at  least  of  their  represen 
tatives  in  Congress,  were  associated  with  it.  Of  that 
opposition,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  favored  candidate 
for  the  succession  to  the  Presidency,  and  by  the 
result  of  a  severely  contested  election,  was  placed  in 
the  chair  of  the  Senate  as  Vice  President  of  the 
United  States.  This  was  the  effect  of  a  provision  in 
the  Constitution,  which  has  since  been  altered  by  an 
amendment.  It  was  one  of  the  new  experiments  in 
Government,  attempted  by  the  Constitution,  and  had 
then  been  received  with  an  unusual  degree  of  favor, 
by  an  anticipated  expectation  that  its  operation  would 


LIFE    OF    JAME 


be  to  mitigate  and  conciliate  party  spirit,  by  causing 
two  persons  to  be  voted  for,  to  fill  the  same  office  of 
President,  and  by  consoling  the  unsucessful  candidate 
and  his  friends  with  the  second  office  in  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  Union.  The  test  of  experience  soon  dis 
abused  the  fallacious  foresight  of  a  benevolent  theory, 
and  disclosed  springs  of  human  action  adverse  to  the 
device  of  placing  either  a  political  antagonist  or  co- 
adjator  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  at  the  head  of  the 
Senate,  and  as  contingently  his  successor. 

The  principles  of  the  administration  of  Washington 
were  pursued  by  his  immediate  successor.  The  op 
position  to  them  was  encouraged  and  fortified  by  the 
position  of  their  leader  in  the  second  seat  of  power; 
and  the  Directory  of  France,  wallowing  in  corruption 
and  venality,  was  preparing  the  way  for  their  own 
destruction  at  home,  and  setting  up  to  sale  the  peace 
of  their  country  with  other  nations,  and  especially 
with  the  United  States.  By  their  violence  and  fraud 
they  compelled  the  Congress  to  annul  the  existing 
Treaties  between  the  United  States  and  France,  and 
without  an  absolute  declaration  of  war,  to  authorize 
defensive  hostilities. 

In  the  controversy  with  France  during  this  period, 
the  executive  administration  was  sustained  by  a  vast 
majority  of  the  People  of  the  Union,  and  the  elections 
both  of  the  People  and  of  the  State  Legislatures,  re 
turned  decided  majorities  in  both  houses  of  Congress 
of  corresponding  opinions  and  policy.  A  powerful 
and  inveterate  opposition  to  all  the  measures  both  of 


64  LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

Congress  and  of  the  administration  was  however  con 
stantly  maintained  with  the  countenance  and  co 
operation  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  whose  partialities  in  favor 
of  France  and  the  French  revolution,  though  not 
extending  to  the  justification  of  the  secret  Intrigues 
and  open  hostilities  of  the  Directory,  still  counteracted 
the  operations  of  the  American  Government  to  resist 
and  defeat  them. 

The  violence  and  pertinacity  of  the  opposition  pro 
voked  the  ruling  majority  in  Congress  to  the  adoption 
of  two  measures  which  neither  the  exasperated  spirit 
of  the  times,  nor  the  deliberate  judgment  of  after  days 
could  reconcile  to  the  temper  of  the  people.  I  allude 
to  the  two  acts  of  Congress  since  generally  known  by 
the  names  of  the  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws.  Of  their 
merits  or  demerits -this  is  not  the  time  or  the  place  to 
speak.  They  passed  in  Congress  without  vehement 
opposition,  for  Mr.  Jefferson,  then  holding  the  office 
of  Vice  President  of  the  United  States,  took  no  act 
ing  part  against  them  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate,  and  Mr.  Madison,  at  the  close  of  the  adminis 
tration  of  Washington,  had  relinquished  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  Union.  Devoted  in 
friendship  to  the  person,  and  in  policy  to  the  views  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  he  participated  with  deference  in  his 
opinions  to  an  extent  which  the  deliberate  convictions 
of  his  own  judgment  sometimes  failed  to  confirm.  The 
alien  and  sedition  acts  were  intended  to  suppress  the 
intrigues  of  foreign  emissaries,  employed  by  the  pro 
fligate  Government  of  the  French  Directory,  and  who 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  65 

abused  the  freedom  of  the  press  by  traducing  the 
characters  of  the  Administration  and  its  friends,  and 
by  instigating  the  resistance  of  the  people  against  the 
Government  and  the  laws  of  the  Union. 

Among  the  eminent  qualities  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  was  a 
keen  constant,  and  profound  faculty  of  observation  with 
regard  to  the  action  and  reaction  of  the  popular  opinion 
upon  the  measures  of  government.  He  perceived  imme 
diately  the  operation  of  the  alien  and  sedition  acts,  and  • 
he  availed  himself  of  them  with  equal  sagacity  and  ardor 
for  the  furtherance  of  his  own  views  of  public  policy 
and  of  personal  advancement.  In  opposition  to  the 
alien  and  sedition  acts,  he  deemed  it  advisable  to  bring 
into  action,  so  far  as  it  was  practicable,  the  power  of 
the  State  Legislatures  against  the  Government  of  the 
Union.  In  the  pursuit  of  this  system  it  was  his  good 
fortune  to  obtain  the  aid  and  co-operation  of  Mr.  Madi 
son  and  of  other  friends  equally  devoted  personally  to 
him,  and  concurring  more  fully  in  his  sentiments,  then 
members  of  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky.  Assuming 
as  first  principles,  that  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  Congress  possessed  no  authority  to  re 
strain  in  any  manner  the  freedom  of  the  press,  not 
even  in  self-defence  against  the  most  incendiary  de 
famation,  and  that  the  principles  of  the  English  Com 
mon  Law  were  of  no  force  under  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  he  drafted,  with  his  own  hand,  reso 
lutions  which  were  adopted  by  the  Legislature  of 
Kentucky,  declaring  that  each  State  had  the  right  to 
judge  for  itself  as  well  of  infractions  of  the  common 


66  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

Constitution  by  the  general  government,  as  of  the 
mode  and  measures  of  redress — that  the  alien  and  se 
dition  laws  were,  in  their  opinion,  manifest  and  palpa 
ble  violations  of  the  Constitution,  and  therefore  null 
and  void — and  that  a  nullification  by  the  State  Sove 
reignties  of  all  unauthorized  acts  done  under  color  of 
the  Constitution,  is  the  rightful  remedy  for  such  in 
fractions. 

The  principles  thus  assumed,  and  particularly  that 
of  remedial  nullification  by  state  authority,  have  been 
more  than  once  re-asserted  by  parties  predominating 
in  one  or  more  of  the  confederated  States,  dissatisfied 
with  particular  acts  of  the  general  government.  They 
have  twice  brought  the  Union  itself  to  the  verge  of 
dissolution.  To  that  result  it  must  come,  should  it  ev 
er  be  the  misfortune  of  the  American  People  that  they 
should  obtain  the  support  of  a  sufficient  portion  of 
them  to  make  them  effective  by  force.  They  never 
have  yet  been  so  supported.  The  alien  and  sedition 
acts  were  temporary  Statutes,  and  expired  by  their 
own  limitations.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  revive 
them,  but  in  our  most  recent  times,  restrictions  far 
more  vigorous  upon  the  freedom  of  the  press,  of 
speech  and  of  personal  liberty,  than  the  alien  and  se 
dition  1-aws,  have  not  only  been  deemed  within  the 
constitutional  power  of  Congress,  but  even  recom 
mended  by  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union,  to  en 
counter  the  dangers  and  evils  of  incendiary  publica 
tions. 

The  influence  of  Mr.   Jefferson  over   the  mind   of 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  67 

Mr.  Madison,  was  composed  of  all  that  genius,  talent, 
experience,  splendid  public  services,  exalted  reputa 
tion,  added  to  congenial  tempers,  undivided  friendship 
and  habitual  sympathies  of  interest  and  of  feeling 
could  inspire.  Among  the  numerous  blessings  which 
it  was  the  rare  good  fortune  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  life  to 
enjoy,  was  that  of  the  uninterrupted,  disinterested, 
and  efficient  friendship  of  jyTnrMsnn.  But  it  was  the 
friendship  of  a  mind  not  inferior  in  capacity,  and  tem 
per  ed  with  a  calmer  sensibility  and  a  cooler  judgment 
than  his  own.  With  regard  to  the  measures  of  Wash-  — \ 
ington's  administration,  from  the  time  when  the  Coun-  ) 
cils  of  Hamilton  acquired  the  ascendancy  over  those 
of  Jefferson,  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Madison  generally 
coincided  with  those  of  his  friend.  He  had  resisted, 
on  Constitutional  grounds,  the  establishment  of  a  Na 
tional  Bank — he  had  proposed,  and  with  all  his  ability 
had  urged  important  modifications  of  the  funding  sys 
tem.  He  had  written  and  published  the  papers  of  Hel- 
vidius,  and  he  had  originated  measures  of  commercial 
regulation  against  Great  Britain,  instead  of  which 
Washington  had  preferred  to  institute  the  pacific  and 
friendly  mission  of  Mr.  Jay.  He.  had  disapproved  of 
the  treaty  concluded  by  that  eminent,  profound  and 
incorruptible  statesman,  a  measure  the  most  rancor- 
ously  contested  of  any  of  those  of  Washington's  ad 
ministration,  and  upon  which  public  opinion  has  re 
mained  divided  to  this  day.  Mr.  Madison  concurred 
entirely  with  Mr.  Jefferson  in  the  policy  of  neu 
trality  to  the  European  wars,  but  with  a  strong  lean- 


68  LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

ing  of  favor  to  France  and  her  revolution,  which  it 
was  then  impossible  to  hold  without  a  leaning  ap 
proaching  to  hostility  against  Great  Britain,  her  poli 
cy  and  her  Government.  Mr.  Madison  therefore,  at 
the  earnest  solicitation  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  introduced 
into  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  the  resolutions  adop 
ted  on  the  21st  of  December,  1798,  declaring  1.  That 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  a  compact, 
to  which  the  States  were  parties,  granting  limited 
powers  of  Government.  2.  That  in  case  of  a  deliber 
ate,  palpable  and  dangerous  exercise  of  other  powers, 
not  granted  by  the  compact,  the  States  had  the  right 
to,  and  were  in  duty  bound  to  interpose,  for  arresting 
the  progress  of  the  evils  and  for  maintaining  with 
in  their  respective  limits  the  authorities,  rights  and 
liberties  appertaining  to  them.  3.  That  the  alien  and 
sedition  acts  were  palpable  and  alarming  in  fractions  of 
the  Constitution.  4.  That  the  State  of  Virginia,  hav 
ing  by  its  Convention  which  ratified  the  federal  Con 
stitution,  expressly  declared  that  among  othf3r  essen 
tial  rights  the  liberty  of  conscience  and  the  press  can 
not  be  cancelled,  abridged,  restrained,  or  modified  by 
any  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  from  its  ex 
treme  anxiety  to  guard  these  rights  from  every  possi 
ble  attack  of  sophistry  and  ambition,  having  with  the 
other  States  recommended  an  amendment  for  that 
purpose,  which  amendment  was  in  due  time  annexed 
to  the  Constitution,  it  would  mark  a  reproachful  incon 
sistency  and  criminal  degeneracy  if  an  indifference 
were  now  shown  to  the  most  palpable  violation  of  one 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  69 

of  the  rights  thus  declared  and  secured,  and  to  the 
establishment  of  a  precedent  which  might  be  fatal  to 
the  other.  5.  That  the  State  of  Virginia  declared  the 
alien  and  sedition  laws  UNCONSTITUTIONAL, — solemnly 
appealed  to  the  like  dispositions  in  the  other  States,  in 
confidence  that  they  would  concur  with  her  in  that 
declaration,  and  that  the  necessary  and  proper  mea 
sures  would  be  taken  by  each,  for  co-operating  with  her, 
in  maintaining  unimpaired  the  authorities  rights  arid 
liberties  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the 
People.  6.  That  the  Governor  should  be  desired  to 
transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  Executive 
authority  of  each  of  the  other  States,  with  a  request 
that  they  should  be  communicated  to  the  respective 
State  Legislatures,  and  that  a  copy  should  be  fur 
nished  to  each  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  s 
of  Virginia  in  Congress.  — 

The  resolutions  did  but  in  part  carry  into  effect  the 
principles  and  purposes  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  His  original 
intention  was  that  the  alien  and  sedition  acts  should 
be  declared  by  the  State  Legislatures,  null  and  void — 
and  that  with  the  declaration  that  nullification  by  them 
was  the  rightful  remedy  for  such  usurpations  of  power 
by  the  federal  Government,  committees  of  correspond 
ence  and  co-operation  should  be  appointed  by  the 
Legislatures  of  the  States  concurring  in  the  resolu 
tions,  for  consultation  with  regard  to  further  measures. 
Before  the  adoption  of  the  Virginia  resolutions,  the 
Legislature  of  Kentucky  had  adopted  others  drafted 
by  Mr.  Jefferson  himself  and  introduced  by  two  of 


70  LIFE    OF    JAMES     MADISON. 

his  friends  in  that  body.  In  those  resolutions,  the 
doctrines  of  nullification  by  the  State  Legislatures  of 
acts  of  Congress,  deemed  by  them  unconstitutional, 
was  first  explicitly  and  unequivocally  asserted.  But 
even  in  Kentucky  the  Legislature  was  not  quite  pre 
pared  for  consultation  upon  further  measures  of  co 
operation  by  committees  of  correspondence. 

The  Virginia  Resolutions  were  transmitted  to  the 
other  States,  with  an  address  to  the  people  in  support 
of  them,  written  by  Mr.  Madison.  They  were 
stronly  disapproved  by  resolutions  of  all  the  Legisla 
tures  of  the  New  England  States,  and  by  those  of 
New  York  and  Delaware.  They  were  not,  nor  were 
those~of~The  Legislature  of  Kentucky  concurred  in  by 
any  other  State  Legislature  of  the  Union,  but  they 
contributed  greatly  to  increase  the  unpopularity  of  the 
measures  which  they  denounced,  and  sharpened  the 
edge  of  every  weapon  wielded  against  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  time. 

At  the  succeeding  sessions  of  the  Legislatures  of 
Kentucky  and  of  Virginia,  they  took  into  considera 
tion  the  answers  of  the  Legislatures  of  other  States 
to  their  resolutions  of  1798.  The  reply  of  Kentucky 
was  in  the  form  of  a  resolution  re-asserting  the  right 
of  the  separate  States  to  judge  of  infractions,  by  the 
Government  of  the  Union,  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  expressly  affirming  that  a  nullifica 
tion  by  the  State  Sovereignties  of  all  unauthorized 
acts  done  under  color  of  that  instrument,  was  the 
rightful  remedy  ;  and  complaining  of  the  doctrines 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  71 

and  principles  attempted  to  be  maintained  in  all  the 
answers,  that  of  Virginia  only  excepted. 

In  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  a  long,  most  able 
and  elaborate  report  was  written  by  Mr,  Madison,  in 
reply  to  the  answers  received  from  the  other  States, 
and  concluded  with  the  following  resolution  : 

"  That  the  General  Assembly,  having  carefully  and 
respectfully  attended  to  the  proceedings  of  a  number 
of  the  States,  in  answer  to  the  resolutions  of  Decem 
ber  21,  1798,  and  having  accurately  and  fully  re- 
examined  and  re-considered  the  latter,  find  it  to  be 
their  indispensable  duty  to  adhere  to  the  same,  as 
founded  in  truth,  as  consonant  with  the  Constitution, 
and  as  conducive  to  its  preservation  ;  and  more  espe 
cially  to  be  their  duty  to  renew  as  they  do  hereby 
renew  their  protest  against  the  alien  and  sedition  acts, 
as  palpable  and  alarming  infractions  of  the  Constitu 
tion." 

The  report  and  resolution  were  adopted  by  the  Le 
gislature  in  February,  1800.  The  alien  law  expired 
by  its  own  limitation,  on  the  25th  of  June  of  that 
year,  and  the  sedition  act  on  the  4th  of  March,  1801. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Legislatures  of  Kentucky 
and  Virginia  relating  to  the  alien  and  sedition  acts, 
gave  to  them  an  importance  far  beyond  that  which 
naturally  belonged  to  them.  The  acts  themselves, 
and  the  resolutions  of  the  Legislatures  concerning 
them,  may  now  be  considered  merely  as  adversary 
party  measures. 

The   agency   of  Mr.    Jefferson  in  originating   the 


A       HIV 
th< 


72  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

measures  of  both  the  State  Legislatures  was  at  the 
time  profoundly  secret.  It  has  been  made  known  only 
since  his  decease,  but  in  estimating  the  weight  of  the 
objections  against  the  two  laws  on  sound  principles  as 
well  of  morals  as  of  politics,  the  fact  as  well  as  the 
manner  of  that  agency  are  observable.  The  situation 
which  he  then  held,  and  that  to  which  he  ascended  by 
its  operation,  are  considerations  not  to  be  overlooked 
in  fixing  the  deliberate  judgment  of  posterity  upon 
the  whole  transaction.  Mr.  Madison's  motives  for 
ie  part  which  he  acted  in  the  drama,  are  not  liable 
to  the  same  scrutiny  ;  nor  did  his  public  station  at  the 
time,  nor  the  principles  which  he  asserted  in  the  man 
agement  of  the  controversy,  nor  the  measures  which 
he  proposed,  recommended  and  accomplished,  subject 
his  posthumous  reputation  and  character  to  the  same 
animadversions.  Standing  here  as  the  sincere  and 
faithful  organ  of  the  sentiments  of  my  fellow  citizens 
to  honor  a  great  and  illustrious  benefactor  of  his  coun 
try,  it  would  be  as  foreign  from  the  honest  and  delibe 
rate  judgment  of  my  soul  as  from  the  sense  of  my 
duties  on  this  occasion  to  profess  my  assent  to  the 
reasoning  of  his  report,  or  my  acquiescence  in  the  ap 
plication  of  its  unquestionable  principles  to  the  two 
acts  of  Congressional  legislation  which  it  arraigns. 
That  because  the  States  of  this  Union,  as  well  as  their 
people,  are  parties  to  the  Constitutional  compact  of  the 
federal  Government,  therefore  the  State  Legislatures 
have  the  right  to  judge  of  infractions  of  the  Constitu- 
t'on  by  the  organized  Government  of  the  whole,  and 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  73 

to  declare  acts  of  Congress  unconstitutional,  is  as  ab 
horrent  to  the  conclusions  of  my  judgment  as  to  the 
feelings  of  my  heart — but  holding  the  converse  of 
those  propositions  with  a  conviction  as  firm  as  an 
article  of  religious  faith,  I  too  clearly  see  to  admit  of 
denial,  that  minds  of  the  highest  order  of  intellect, 
and  hearts  of  the  purest  integrity  of  purpose,  have 
been  brought  to  different  conclusions.  If  Jefferson 
and  Madison  deemed  the  alien  and  sedition  acts  plain 
and  palpable  infractions  of  the  Constitution,  Washing 
ton  and  Patrick  Henry  held  them  to  be  good  and 
wholesome  laws.  These  opinions  were  perhaps  all 
formed  under  excitements  and  prepossessions  which 
detract  from  the  weight  of  the  highest  authority. 
The  alien  act  was  passed  under  feelings  of  honest  in 
dignation  at  the  audacity  with  which  foreign  emis 
saries  were  practising  within  the  bosom  of  the  country 
upon  the  passions  of  the  people  against  their  own  Go 
vernment.  The  sedition  act  was  intended  as  a  curb 
upon  the  publication  of  malicious  and  incendiary  slan 
der  upon  the  President  or  the  two  Houses  of  Con 
gress,  or  either  of  them.  But  they  were  restrictive 
upon  the  personal  liberty  of  foreign  emissaries,  and 
upon  the  political  licentiousness  of  the  press.  The 
alien  act  produced  its  effect  by  its  mere  enactment,  in 
the  departure  from  the  country  of  the  most  obnoxious 
foreigners,  and  the  power  conferred  by  it  upon  the 
President  was  never  exercised.  The  prosecutions 
under  the  sedition  act  did  but  aggravate  the  evil  which 
they  were  intended  to  repress.  Without  believing 


74  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

that  either  of  those  laws  was  an  infraction  of  the 
Constitution,  it  may  be  admitted  without  disparage 
ment  to  the  authority  of  Washington  and  Henry,  or 
of  the  Congress  which  passed  the  acts,  that  they  were 
riot  good  and  wholesome  laws,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
not  suited  to  the  temper  of  the  people. 

Emergencies  may  arise  in  which  the  authority  of 
Congress  will  be  invoked  by  the  portion  of  the  people 
most  aggrieved  by  the  alien  and  sedition  acts,  for  arbi 
trary  expulsion  of  foreign  incendiaries,  and  for  the 
suppression  of  incendiary  publications  at  home,  by 
measures  far  more  rigorous  and  more  palpably  viola- 
tive  of  the  Constitution  than  those  laws,  and  if  the 
temper  of  that  portion  of  the  people  which  approved 
them,  shall  be,  as  it  has  recently  been,  and  perhaps 
still  is,  attuned  to  endure  the  experiment,  the  Consti 
tutional  authority  of  Congress  will  be  found  amply 
sufficient  for  the  enactment  of  statutes  far  more  sharp 
and  biting  than  they  were.  The  question  with  regard 
to  the  constitutionality  of  those  laws  is  however  far 
different  from  that  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
resisted.  In  that  originated  the  doctrine  of  nullification. 

In  this  respect  there  appears  to  have  been  a  very 
material  difference  between  the  opinions  and  purposes 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison.  Concurring-  in 
the  doctrine  that  the  separate  States  have  the  right  to 
interpose,  in  case  of  palpable  infractions  of  the  Consti 
tution  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  the  alien  and  sedition  acts  presented  a  case  of 
such  infraction,  Mr.  Jefferson  considered  them  as  ab- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  75 

solutely  null  and  void,  and  thought  the  State  Legisla 
tures  competent  not  only  to  declare,  but  to  make  them 
so  ;  to  resist  their  execution  within  their  respective 
borders  by  physical  force  ;  and  to  secede  and  separate 
from  the  Union,  rather  than  submit  to  them,  if  attempt 
ed  to  be  carried  into  execution  by  force.  To  these  doc 
trines  Mr.  Madison  did  not  subscribe.  He  disclaimed 
them  in  the  most  explicit  manner,  at  a  very  late  period 
of  his  life,  and  in  his  last  and  most  matured  sentiments 
with  regard  to  those  laws,  he  considered  them  rather 
as  unadvised  acts,  passed  in  contravention  to  the 
opinions  and  feelings  of  the  community,  than  as  more 
unconstitutional  than  many  other  acts  of  Congress 
which  have  generally  accorded  with  the  views  of  a 
majority  of  the  States  arid  of  the  people. 

Upon  the  change  of  the  administration  by  the  elec 
tion  of  Mr.  Jefferson  as  President  of  the  United  States 
in  1801,  a  new  career  was  opened  to  the  talents  and 
wisdom  of  his  friend,  who  thenceforth  became  his  first 
assistant  and  his  most  confidential  adviser  in  the  ad 
ministration  of  the  Government. 

That  administration  was  destined  to  pass  through 
ordeals  scarcely  less  severe  than  those  which  had 
tested  the  efficiency  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  under  the  Presidency  of  his  predecessors. 

By  a  singular  concurrence  of  good  fortune,  Mr. 
Jefferson  was  immediately  after  his  accession  relieved 
from  the  pressure  of  all  the  important  difficulties  and 
menacing  dangers  which  had  so  heavily  weighed  upon 
the  administration  of  both  his  predecessors.  The  dif- 


76  LIFE    OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

ferences  between  them  both  and  the  United  States, 
which  had  during  the  twelve  years  of  those  adminis 
trations  kept  the  nation  without  intermission  in  the 
most  imminent  dangers  of  war,  first  with  Great  Brit 
ain,  and  afterwards  with  France,  had  all  been  ad 
justed  by  Treaties  with  both  those  nations.  The  re 
volutionary  violence  of  Republican  France  had  al 
ready  subsided  into  a  military  Government.  Still 
retaining  the  name  of  a  republic,  but  rapidly  ripening 
into  a  hereditary  monarchy.  The  wars  in  Europe 
themselves  were  about  to  cease,  for  a  short  period 
indeed,  and  soon  to  blaze  out  with  renewed  and  ag 
gravated  fury,  but  upon  questions  of  mere  conquest 
and  aggrandizement  between  the  belligerent  powers. 
In  the  same  year  with  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  the  peace  of  Amiens  had  replaced  France  at  the 
head  of  continental  Europe,  leaving  Great  Britain  in 
the  uncontested,  if  not  undisputed  dominion  of  the  sea. 
The  expenditures  for  the  army  and  navy,  already 
much  reduced  by  the  reduction  of  the  former  to  a 
small  peace  establishment,  admitted  of  further  re 
trenchments,  and  the  very  questionable  policy  of  re 
ducing  also  the  latter,  allowed  a  corresponding  reduc 
tion  of  taxation,  which  gave  the  new  administration 
the  popular  attraction  of  professed  retrenchment  and 
reform.  For  the  naval  armaments  which  the  sharp 
collisions  with  both  the  belligerent  nations  had  ren 
dered  necessary,  although  they  had  nobly  sustained 
the  glory  of  valor  and  skill  upon  the  ocean  acquired 
during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  were  destined  to 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  77 

deeds  of  yet  more  exalted  fame  in  the  administration 
of  his  successor,  had  necessarily  occasioned  heavy 
expense — had  been  among  the  measures  most  severe 
ly  censured  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  were  among  his 
most  favorite  objects  of  reform.  Reformed  they  ac 
cordingly  were,  and  dry-docks  and  gun-boats  became 
for  a  time  the  cheap  defences  of  the  nation.  The 
gallant  spirit  of  the  navy  was  itself  discountenanced 
and  discouraged,  till  a  Tripolitan  Cruiser,  captured  af 
ter  a  desperate  battle,  was  not  even  taken  into  posses 
sion,  upon  a  scruple  of  the  victor's  instructions  wheth 
er  self-defence  could  give  a  right  to  the  fruits  of  vic 
tory,  without  a  declaration  of  war  by  Congress. 

The  reduction  of  the  navy,  while  it  lasted,  deeply 
injurious  both  to  the  honor  and  the  interests  of  the 
nation,  gave  however  to  the  incipient  administration 
the  credit  of  reduced  expenditures,  retrenchment  and 
reform:  such  was  its  first  effect  at  home.  Abroad  its 
first  fruit  was  the  contempt  of  the  Barbary  powers 
— insult,  outrage  and  war — a  new  armament,  and  new 
taxation  under  the  denomination  of  a  Mediterranean 
fund,  took  the  place  of  retrenchment ;  and  when  the 
smothered  flames  of  war  burst  forth  anew  between 
France  and  Britain,  the  impressment  of  our  seamen, 
Orders  in  Council,  Paper  Blockades,  Decrees  of  Ber 
lin,  of  Milan,  of  Rambouillet,  and  finally  the  murder 
of  our  mariners  within  our  own  waters,  and  the  wan 
ton  and  savage  attack  upon  the  '  frigate  Chesapeake, 
proved  in  the  degradation  of  our  national  reputation, 
and  in  the  cowering  of  that  undaunted  spirit  which 


78  LIFE    OF    JAMES     MADISON. 

rides  upon  the  mountain  wave,  the  short-sightedness 
of  that  policy,  which  trusted  to  gun-boats  and  dry- 
docks  for  the  defence  of  the  country  upon  the  world 
of  waters,  and  which  had  crippled  the  naval  arm,  and 
tamed  the  gallant  spirit  of  the  Union,  for  the  glory  of 
retrenchment  and  reform. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  renewal  of  the  European 
war,  and  the  partialities  of  Mr.  Jefferson  in  favor  of 
France,  enabled  him  to  accomplish  an  object  which 
greatly  enlarged  the  territories  of  the  Union — which 
removed  a  most  formidable  source  of  future  dissen 
sions  with  France — which  exceedingly  strengthened 
the  relative  influence  and  power  of  the  State  and 
section  of  the  Union,  to  which  he  himself  belonged, 
and  which  in  its  consequences  changed  the  character 
of  the  Confederacy  itself.  This  operation,  by  far  the 
greatest  that  has  been  accomplished  by  any  adminis 
tration  under  the  Constitution  was  consummated  at 
the  price  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  in  money,  and 
of  a  direct,  unqualified,  admitted  violation  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States.  According  to  the  theo 
ry  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  applied  by  him  to  the  alien  and 
sedition  acts,  it  was  absolutely  null  and  void.  It  might 
have  been  nullified  by  the  Legislature  of  any  one 
State  in  the  Union,  and  if  persisted  in,  would  have 
warranted  and  justified  a  combination  of  States,  and 
their  secession  from  the  confederacy  in  resistance 
against  it. 

That  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  neces 
sary  to  legalize  the  annexation  of  Louisiana  to  the 

. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  79 

Union,  was  the  opinion  both  of  Mr.  Jefferson  and  of 
Mr.  Madison.  They  finally  acquiesced  however  in 
the  latitudinous  construction  of  that  instrument,  which 
holds  the  treaty-making  powers,  together  with  an  act 
of  Congress,  sufficient  for  this  operation.  It  was  ac 
cordingly  thus  consummated  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  has 
been  sanctioned  by  the  acquiescence  of  the  people. 
Upwards  of  thirty  years  have  passed  away  since  this 
great  change  was  effected.  By  a  subsequent  Treaty 
with  Spain,  by  virtue  of  the  same  powers  and  authori 
ty,  the  Floridas  have  been  annexed  also  to  the  Union, 
and  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States  have  been 
extended  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 
There  is  now  nothing  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  to  inhibit  their  extension  to  the  two  polar 
circles  from  the  Straits  of  Hudson  to  the  Straits  of 
Magellan.  Whether  this  very  capacity  of  enlarge 
ment  of  territory  and  multiplication  of  States  by  the 
constructive  power  of  Congress,  without  check  or 
control  either  by  the  States  or  by  their  people,  will 
not  finally  terminate  in  the  dissolution  of  the  Union 
itself,  time  alone  can  determine.  The  credit  of  the 
acquisition  of  Louisiana,  whether  to  be  considered  as 
a  source  of  good  or  of  evil,  is  perhaps  due  to  Robert 
R.  Livingston  more  than  to  any  other  man,  but  the 
merit  of  its  accomplishment  must  ever  remain  as  the 
great  and  imperishable  memorial  of  the  administration 
of  Jefferson. 

In  the  interval  between  the  Peace  of  Amiens,  and 
the  renewal  of  the  wars  of  France  with  the   rest  of 


80  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

Europe,  the  grasping  spirit  and  gigantic  genius  of 
Napoleon  had  been  revolving  projects  of  personal  ag 
grandizement  and  of  national  ambition  of  which  this 
western  hemisphere  was  to  be  the  scene.  He  had 
extorted  from  the  languishing  and  nerveless  dynasty 
of  the  Bourbons  in  Spain  the  retrocession  of  the  pro 
vince  of  Louisiana,  with  a  description  of  boundary 
sufficiently  indefinite,  to  raise  questions  of  limits 
whenever  it  might  suit  his  purpose  to  settle  them  by 
the  intimation  of  his  will.  Here  it  had  been  his  pur 
pose  to  establish  a  military  Colony,  with  the  Mexican 
dominions  of  Spain  on  one  side,  and  the  United  States 
of  America  and  the  continental  colonies  of  Great  Bri 
tain  on  the  other,  in  the  centre  of  the  western  hemis 
phere,  the  stand  for  a  lever  to  wield  at  his  pleasure  the 
destinies  of  the  world.  This  plan  was  discomposed 
by  a  petty  squabble  with  Great  Britain  about  the 
Island  of  Malta;  and  a  project  wilder  if  possible  than 
his  military  Colony  of  Louisiana — namely  the  Caesa 
rian  operation  of  conquering  the  British  Islands  them 
selves  by  direct  invasion.  The  transfer  of  Louisiana 
had  been  stipulated  by  a  secret  treaty,  but  possession 
had  not  been  taken.  Mr.  Livingston  was  then  the 
Minister  of  the  United  States  in  France.  He  had 
been  made  acquainted  with  the  existence  of  the  Trea 
ty  of  retrocession  of  Louisiana,  and  by  a  memorial  of 
great  ability,  had  expostulated  against  it,  urging  as 
scarcely  less  essential  to  the  interests  of  France  than 
of  the  United  States,  that  the  Province  should  be  ce 
ded  to  them.  This  memorial  when  presented  had 


T;:  2\ 


LIFE    OF    JAM 

met  with  little  attention  from 
ry  Colony  of  twenty  thousand  men  was  on  the  point 
of  embarkation,  under  the  command  of  one  of  his 
Lieutenants,  destined  himself  in  after  time  to  wear  the 
crown  of  Gustavus-Adolphus,  when  the  Iron  Crown 
of  Lombardy  and  the  imperial  crown  of  France,  after 
encircling  the  brows  of  Napoleon,  should  have  melted 
before  the  leaden  sceptre  of  the  restored  Bourbons. 
Napoleon  was  to  rise  to  the  summit  of  human  great 
ness,  and  to  fall  from  it  over  another  precipice,  than 
that  to  which  he  was  approaching  with  his  military 
colony  of  Louisiana.  When  he  determined  to  renew 
the  war  with  England,  still  mistress  of  the  seas,  he 
could  no  longer  risk  the  fortunes  of  his  soldiers  in  a 
passage  across  the  Atlantic,  and  unable  as  he  was  to 
cope  wdth  the  thunders  of  Britain  upon  the  ocean,  he 
saw  that  Louisiana  itself,  if  he  should  take  possession 
of  the  Province,  must  inevitably  fall  an  easy  prey 
to  the  enemy  with  whom  he  was  to  contend.  He 
therefore  abandoned  his  project  of  conquests  in  Ameri 
ca,  and  determined  at  once  to  sell  his  Colony  of  Lou 
isiana  to  the  United  States. 

Never  in  the  fortunes  of  mankind  was  there  a  more 
sudden,  complete  and  propitious  turn  in  the  tide  of 
events  than  this  change  in  the  purposes  of  Napoleon 
proved  to  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  The 
wrangling  altercation  with  Spain  for  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi,  had  been  adjusted  during  the  adminis 
tration  of  Washington,  by  a  treaty,  which  had  con 
ceded  to  them  the  right,  and  stipulated  to  make  its 


82  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

enjoyment  effective,  of  deposit  at  New  Orleans.  In 
repurchasing  from  Spain  the  Colony  of  Louisiana, 
Napoleon,  to  disencumber  himself  from  the  burden  of 
this  stipulation,  and  to  hold  in  his  hand  a  rod  over  the 
western  section  of  this  Union,  had  compelled  the  das 
tardly  and  imbecile  monarch  of  Spain  to  commit  an 
act  of  perfidy,  by  withdrawing  from  the  people  of  the 
United  States  this  stipulated  right  of  deposit  before 
delivering  the  possession  of  the  Colony  to  France. 
The  great  artery  of  the  commerce  of  the  Union  was 
thus  choaked  in  its  circulation.  The  sentiment  of  sur 
prise,  of  alarm,  of  indignation,  was  instantaneous  and 
universal  among  the  people.  The  hardy  and  enter 
prising  settlers  of  the  western  country  could  hardly 
be  restrained  from  pouring  down  the  swelling  floods 
of  their  population,  to  take  possession  of  New  Orleans 
itself,  by  the  immediate  exercise  of  the  rights  of  war. 
A  war  with  Spain  must  have  been  immediately  fol 
lowed  by  a  war  with  France,  which,  however  just 
the  cause  of  the  United  States  would  have  been,  must 
necessarily  give  a  direction  to  public  affairs  adverse  to 
the  whole  system  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  policy,  and  in  all 
probability  prove  fatal  to  the  success  of  his  adminis 
tration.  Instigations  to  immediate  war,  were  at  once 
attempted  in  Congress,  and  were  strongly  counte 
nanced  by  the  excited  temper  of  the  people.  Mr. 
Jefferson  instituted  an  extraordinary  mission  both  to 
France  and  Spain,  to  remonstrate  against  the  with 
drawal  of  the  right  of  deposit,  and  to  propose  anew 
the  purchase  of  the  Island  of  New  Orleans.  By  one 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  83 

of  those  coincidences  in  the  course  of  human  events, 
too  rare  to  be  numbered  among  the  ordinary  dispen 
sations  of  Providence  ;  too  common  to  be  account 
able  upon  the  doctrine  of  unregulated  chance,  when 
Mr.  Jefferson's  minister  arrived  at  the  seat  of  his  first 
destination,  his  charge,  and  much  more  than  his 
charge,  was  already  performed.  Napoleon  had  re 
solved  to  sell  to  the  United  States  the  whole  of  Louis 
iana,  and  Great  Britain,  under  the  influence  of  fears 
and  jealousies  of  him,  even  deeper  than  those  with 
which  she  pined  at  every  prosperity,  of  her  alienated 
child,  had  declared  her  acquiescence  in  the  transfer. 
The  American  negociators  without  hesitation  trans 
cended  their  powers,  to  obtain  all  Louisiana  instead  of 
Florida.  Claims  of  indemnity  to  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  for  wrongs  suffered  from  the  preceding 
revolutionary  Governments  of  France,  were  provided 
for  by  a  separate  Convention,  and  paid  for  with  part 
of  the  purchase  money  for  the  Province,  and  the 
whole  remnant  of  the  fifteen  millions  was,  in  the 
midst  of  a  raging  war,  with  the  knowledge  and  assent 
of  the  British  Government,  furnished  by  English 
Bankers  to  be  expended  in  preparations  for  the  con 
quest  of  England  by  invasion. 

It  will  be  no  detraction  from  the  merits  or  services 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  or  of  his  Secretary  of  State,  to 
acknowledge  that  in  all  this  transaction  Fortune 
claims  to  herself  the  lion's  share.  To  seize  and  turn 
to  profit  the  precise  instant  of  the  turning  tide,  is 
itself  among  the  eminent  properties  of  a  Statesman, 


84  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

and  if  requiring  less  elevated  virtue  than  the  firmness 
and  prudence  that  withstand  adversity,  or  the  mode 
ration  which  adorns  and  dignifies  prosperity,  it  is  not 
less  essential  to  the  character  of  an  accomplished 
ruler  of  men. 

But  Napoleon  had  transferred  the  acquisition  which 
he  had  wrenched  from  the  nerveless  hand  of  Spain 
with  its  indefinite  and  equivocal  boundary.  He  had 
also  violated  his  faith,  pledged  to  Spain  when  he  took 
back  the  Province,  once  the  Colony  of  France,  that 
he  would  never  -cede  it  to  the  United  States.  Spain 
immediately  complained,  remonstrated,  protested 
against  the  cession,  the  just  reward  of  her  own  per 
fidy,  in  withdrawing  the  stipulated  right  of  deposit  at 
New  Orleans  ;  and  although  Napoleon  soon  silenced 
her  complaints,  and  constrained  her  to  withdraw  her 
protest  against  the  cession,  yet  on  the  question  of 
boundary,  he  had  contracted  his  province  of  Louisiana 
almost  within  the  dimensions  of  the  Island  of  New 
Orleans.  Negotiations  with  Spain  and  France,  soon 
complicated  with  the  sharper  collisions  of  neutral  and 
belligerent  rights,  and  with  the  war  of  extermination 
between  France  and  Britain,  called  for  all  the  talents 
and  all  the  energies  of  the  President,  and  of  his  friend 
and  Minister  in  the  Department  of  State.  The  dis 
cussions  respecting  the  boundaries  of  Louisiana  were 
soon  brought  to  a  close.  Spain  contested  the  claims 
of  the  United  States,  both  east  and  west  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.  The  United  States,  after  an  ineffectual  at 
tempt  to  obtain  the  Floridas  from  Spain,  agreed  to 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  85 

leave  both  the  questions  of  boundary  to  the  decision 
of  France,  and  Napoleon  instantly  decided  it  on  both 
sides  of  the  Mississippi  against  them. 

In  the  first  wars  of  the  French  revolution  Great  Brit 
ain  had  begun  by  straining  the  claim  of  belligerent,  as 
against  neutral  rights,  beyond  all  the  theories  of  in 
ternational  jurisprudence,  and  even  beyond  her  own 
ordinary  practice.  There  is  in  all  war  a  conflict  be 
tween  the  belligerent  and  the  neutral  right,  which  can 
in  its  nature  be  settled  only  by  convention.  And  in 
addition  to  all  the  ordinary  asperities  of  dissension 
between  the  nation  at  war  and  the  nation  at  peace, 
she  had  asserted  a  right  of  man-stealing  from  the  ves 
sels  of  the  United  States.  The  claim  of  right  was  to 
take  by  force  all  sea-faring  men,  her  own  subjects, 
wherever  they  were  found  by  her  naval  officers,  to 
serve  their  king  in  his  wars.  And  under  color  of  this 
tyrant's  right,  her  naval  officers,  down  to  the  most 
beardless  Midshipman,  actually  took  from  the  Ameri 
can  merchant  vessels  which  they  visited,  any  seaman 
whom  they  chose  to  take  for  a  British  subject.  After 
the  Treaty  of  November,  1794,  she  had  relaxed  all 
her  pretensions  against  the  neutral  rights,  and  had 
gradually  abandoned  the  practice  of  impressment  till 
she  was  on  the  point  of  renouncing  it  by  a  formal 
Treaty  stipulation.  At  the  renewal  of  the  war,  after 
the  Peace  of  Amiens,  it  was  at  first  urged  with  much 
respect  for  the  rights  of  neutrality,  but  the  practice 
of  impressment  was  soon  renewed  with  aggravated 
severity,  and  the  commerce  of  neutral  nations  with 


86  LIFE    OF    JAMES     MADISON. 

the  Colonies  of  the  adverse  belligerent  was  wholly 
interdicted  on  the  pretence  of  justification,  because  it 
had  been  forbidden  by  the  enemy  herself  in  the  time 
of  peace.  This  pretension  had  been  first  raised  by 
Great  Britain  in  the  seven  years'  war,  but  she  had 
been  overawed  by  the  armed  neutrality  from  main 
taining  it  in  the  war  of  the  American  revolution.  In 
the  midst  of  this  war  with  Napoleon,  she  suddenly 
reasserted  the  principle,  and  by  a  secret  order  in 
Council,  swept  the  ocean  of  nearly  the  whole  mass  of 
neutral  commerce.  Her  war  with  France  spread 
itself  all  over  Europe,  successively  involving  Spain, 
Italy,  the  Netherlands,  Prussia,  Austria,  Russia,  Den 
mark  and  Sweden.  Not  a  single  neutral  power  re 
mained  in  Europe — and  Great  Britain,  after  annihi 
lating  at  Trafalgar  the  united  naval  power  or  France 
and  Spain,  ruling  thenceforth  with  undisputed  do 
minion  upon  the  ocean,  conceived  the  project  of  en 
grossing  even  the  commerce  with  her  enemy  by  in 
tercepting  all  neutral  navigation.  These  measures 
were  met  by  corresponding  acts  of  violence,  and 
sophistical  principles  of  National  Law,  promulgated 
by  Napoleon,  rising  to  the  summit  of  his  greatness, 
and  preparing  his  dowafall  by  the  abuse  of  his  eleva 
tion.  Through  this  fiery  ordeal  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Jefferson  was  to  pass,  and  the  severest  of  its  tests 
were  to  be  applied  to  Mr.  Madison.  His  correspond 
ence  with  the  ministers  of  Great  Britain,  France  and 
Spain,  and  with  the  ministers  of  the  United  States  to 
those  nations  during  the  remainder  of  Mr.  Jefferson's 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  87 

administration,  constitute  the  most  important  and  most\ 
valuable  materials  of  its  history.  His  examination  of 
the  British  doctrines  relating  to  neutral  trade,  will 
hereafter  be  considered  a  standard  Treatise  on  the 
Law  of  Nations  ;  not  inferior  to  the  works  of  any 
writer  upon  those  subjects  since  the  days  of  Grotius, 
and  every  way  worthy  of  the  author  of  Publius  and 
Helvidius.  There  is  indeed,  in  all  the  diplomatic 
papers  of  American  Statesmen,  justly  celebrated  as 
they  have  been,  nothing  superior  to  this  Dissertation, 
which  was  not  strictly  official.  It  was  composed 
amidst  the  duties  of  the  Department  of  State,  never 
more  arduous  than  at  that  time — in  the  summer  of 
1806.  It  was  published  inofficially,  and  a  copy  of  it 
was  laid  on  the  table  of  each  member  of  Congress  at 
the  commencement  of  the  session  in  December,  1806. 
The  controversies  of  conflicting  neutral  and  bellige 
rent  rights,  continued  through  the  whole  of  Mr.  Jef 
ferson's  administration,  during  the  latter  part  of  which 
they  were  verging,  rapidly  to  war.  He  had  carried 
the  policy  of  peace  perhaps  to  an  extreme.  His  sys 
tem  of  defence  by  commercial  restrictions,  dry-docks, 
gun-boats  and  embargoes,  was  stretched  to  its  last 
hair's  breadth  of  endurance.  Far  be  it  from  me,  my 
fellow  citizens,  to  speak  of  this  system  or  of  its  mo 
tives  with  disrespect.  If  there  be  a  duty,  binding  in 
chains  more  adamantine  than  all  the  rest  the  con 
science  of  a  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  Union,  it  is  that 
of  preserving  peace  with  all  mankind — peace  with  the 
other  nations  of  the  earth — peace  among  the  several 


88  LIFE    OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

States  of  this  Union — peace  in  the  hearts  and  temper 
of  our  own  people.  Yet  must  a  President  of  the 
United  States  never  cease  to  feel  that  his  charge  is  to 
maintain  the  rights,  the  interests  and  the  honor  no  less 
than  the  peace  of  his  country — nor  will  he  be  permit 
ted  to  forget  that  peace  must  be  the  offspring  of  two 
concurring  wills.  That  to  seek  peace  is  not  always  to 
ensure  it.  He  must  remember  too,  that  a  reliance 
upon  the  operation  of  measures,  from  their  effect  on 
the  interests,  however  clear  and  unequivocal  of  na 
tions,  cannot  be  safe  against  a  counter  current  of  their 
passions.  That  nations,  like  individuals,  sacrifice  their 
peace  to  their  pride,  to  their  hatred,  to  their  envy,  to 
their  jealousy,  and  even  to  the  craft,  which  the  cun 
ning  of  hackneyed  politicians  not  unfrequently  mis 
takes  for  policy.  That  nations,  like  individuals,  have 
sometimes  the  misfortune  of  losing  their  senses,  and 
that  lunatic  communities,  which  cannot  be  confined  in 
hospitals,  must  be  resisted  in  arms,  as  a  single  maniac 
is  sometimes  restored  to  reason  by  the  scourge.  That 
national  madness  is  infectious,  and  that  a  paroxysm  of 
it  in  one  people,  especially  when  generated  by  the 
Furies  that  preside  over  war,  produces  a  counter 
paroxysm  in  their  adverse  party.  Such  is  the  melan 
choly  condition  as  yet  of  associated  man.  And  while 
in  the  wise  but  mysterious  dispensations  of  an  over 
ruling  Providence,  man  shall  so  continue,  the  peace  of 
every  nation  must  depend  not  alone  upon  its  own  will, 
but  upon  that  concurrently  with  the  will  of  all  others. 
And  such  was  the  condition  of  the  two  mightiest 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  89 

nations  of  the  earth  during  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Jefferson.  Frantic,  in  fits  of  mutual  hatred,  envy  and 
jealousy  against  each  other;  meditating  mutual  inva 
sion  and  conquest,  and  forcing  the  other  nations  of  the 
four  quarters  of  the  globe  to  the  alternative  of  joining 
them  as  allies  or  encountering  them  as  foes.  Mr.  Jef 
ferson  met  them  with  moral  philosophy  and  commer 
cial  restrictions,  with  dry-docks  and  gun-boats — with 
non-intercourses,  and  embargoes,  till  the  American  na 
tion  were  told  that  they  could  not  be  kicked  into  a 
war,  and  till  they  were  taunted  by  a  British  Statesman 
in  the  Imperial  Parliament  of  England,  with  their 
five  fir  frigates  and  their  striped  bunting. 

Mr.  Jefferson  pursued  his  policy  of  peace  till  it 
brought  the  nation  to  the  borders  of  internal  war.  An 
embargo  of  fourteen  months  duration  was  at  last  re 
luctantly  abandoned  by  him,  when  it  had  ceased  to  be 
obeyed  by  the  people,  and  State  Courts  were  ready  to 
pronounce  it  unconstitutional.  A  non-intercourse  was 
then  substituted  in  its  place,  arid  the  helm  of  State 
passed  from  the  hands  of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  those  of 
Mr.  Madison,  precisely  at  the  moment  of  this 
perturbation  of  earth  and  sea  threatened  with 
war  from  abroad  and  at  home,  but  with  the  prin 
ciple  definitively  settled  that  in  our  intercourse  writh 
foreign  nations,  reason,  justice  and  commercial  re 
strictions  require  live  oak  hearts  and  iron  or  brazen 
mouths  to  speak,  that  they  may  be  distinctly  heard, 
or  attentively  listened  to,  by  the  distant  ear  of  foreign 
ers,  whether  French  or  British,  monarchical  or  repub 
lican. 


yO  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Madison  was  with  re 
gard  to  its  most  essential  principles,  a  cpntinuation  of 
that  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  He  too  was  the  friend  of  peace, 
and  earnestly  desirous  of  maintaining  it.  As  a  last 
resource  for  the  preservation  of  it,  an  act  of  Congress 
prohibited  all  commercial  intercourse  with  both  bellige 
rents,  the  prohibition  to  be  withdrawn  from  either  or 
both  in  the  event  of  a  repeal  by  either  of  the  orders 
and  decrees  in  violation  of  neutral  rights.  France 
ungraciously  and  equivocally  withdrew  her's.  Brit 
ain  refused,  hesitated,  and  at  last  conditionally  with 
drew  her's  when  it  was  too  late — after  a  formal  de 
claration  of  war  had  been  issued  by  Congress  at  the 
recommendation  of  President  Madison  himself. 

Of  the  necessity,  the  policy  or  even  the  justice  of 
this  war,  there  are  conflicting  opinions,  not  yet,  per 
haps  never  to  be,  harmonized.  This  is  not  the  time 
or  the  place  to  discuss  them.  The  passions,  the  preju 
dices  and  the  partialities  of  that  day  have  passed 
away.  That  it  was  emphatically  a  popular  war,  hav 
ing  reference  to  the  whole  people  of  the  United 
States,  will,  I  think,  not  be  denied.  That  it  was  in  a 
high  degree  unpopular  in  our  own  section  of  the  Union, 
is  no  doubt  equally  true;  and  that  it  was  so,  constitu 
ted  the  greatest  difficulties  and  prepared  the  most 
mortifying  disasters  in  its  prosecution. 

The  war  itself  was  an  ordeal  through  which  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  as  the  Government 
of  a  great  nation,  was  to  pass.  Its  trial  in  that  respect 
was  short  but  severe.  In  the  intention  of  its  founders, 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  91 

and  particularly  of  Mr.  Madison,  it  was  a  constitu 
tion  essentially  pacific  in  its_charactezr,and  for  a  na 
tion  above  all  others,  the  lover  of  peace — yet  its  great 
and  most  vigorous  energies,  and  all  its  most  formida 
ble  powers,  are  reserved  for  the  state  of  war — and 
war  is  the  condition  in  which  the  functions  allotted  to 
the  separate  States  sink  into  impotence  compared  with 
those  of  the  general  Government. 

The  war  was  brought  to  a  close  without  any  defi 
nitive  adjustment  of  the  controverted  principles  in 
which  it  had  originated.  It  left  the  questions  of  neu 
tral  commerce  with  an  enemy  and  his  colonies,  of  bot 
tom  and  cargo,  of  blockade  and  contraband  of  war, 
and  even  of  impressment,  precisely  as  they  had  been 
before  the  war.  With  the  European  war  all  the  con 
flicts  between  belligerent  and  neutral  rights  had  ceas 
ed.  Great  Britain,  triumphant  as  she  was  after  a 
struggle  of  more  than  twenty  year's  duration — against 
revolutionary,  republican  and  imperial  France,  was  in 
no  temper  to  yield  the  principles  for  which  in  the  heat 
of  her  contest  she  had  defied  the  power  of  neutrality 
and  the  voice  of  justice.  As  little  were  the  Govern 
ment  or  people  of  the  United  States  disposed  to  yield 
principles,  upon  which,  if  there  had  been  any  error  in 
their  previous  intercourse  with  the  belligerent  powers 
it  was  that  of  faltering  for  the  preservation  of  peace, 
in  the  defence  of  the  rights  of  neutrality,  and  of  con 
ceding  too  much  to  the  lawless  pretensions  of  naval 
war. 

The  extreme  solicitude  of  the  American  Govern- 


92  LIFE   OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

ment  for  the  perpetuity  of  peace,  especially  with 
Great  Britain,  induced  Mr.  Madison  to  institute  with 
her  negotiations  after  the  peace  of  Ghent,  for  the  ad 
justment  of  all  these  questions  of  maritime  collisions 
between  the  warlike  and  the  pacific  nation.  The 
claims  of  neutral  right  are  all  founded  upon  the  pre 
cepts  of  Christianity  and  the  natural  rights  of  man. 
The  warring  party's  claim  is  founded  upon  the  imme 
morial  usages  of  war,  untempered  and  unmitigated  by 
the  chastening  spirit  of  Christianity.  They  all  rest 
upon  the  right  of  force — or  upon  what  has  been  term 
ed  the  ultimate  argument  of  Kings.  But  since  the 
whole  Island  of  Albion  has  been  united  under  one 
Government,  her  foreign  wars  have  necessarily  all 
been  upon  or  beyond  the  seas.  Her  consolidation  and 
her  freedom  have  made  her  the  first  of  Maratime 
States,  and  the  first  of  humane,  learned,  intelligent, 
but  warlike  nations  of  modern  days.  At  home,  she 
is  generous,  beneficent,  tender-hearted,  and  above  all 
proud  of  her  liberty  and  loyalty  united  as  in  one. 
Free  as  the  air  upon  her  mountains,  she  tyrannizes 
over  one  class  of  her  people,  and  that  the  very  class 
upon  which  she  depends  for  the  support  of  her  free 
dom.  She  proclaims  that  the  foot,  be  it  of  a  slave, 
by  alighting  on  her  soil,  emancipates  the  man;  and  as 
if  it  were  the  exclusive  right  of  her  soil,  the  foot  of 
her  own  mariner,  by  passing  from  it  upon  the  deck  of 
a  ship,  slips  into  the  fetters  of  a  slave.  There  is  no 
writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  for  a  British  sailor.  The  stimu 
lant  to  his  love  of  his  king  and  country  is  the  Press 
Gang. 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  93 

This  glaring  inconsistency  with  the  first  principles 
of  the  British  Constitution,  is  justified  on  the  plea  of 
necessity,  which  being  above  all  law,  claims  equal  ex 
emption  from  responsibility  to  the  tribunal  ol  reason. 
The  efforts  of  Mr.  Madison  and  of  his  successors  to 
obtain  an  amicable  adjustment  of  this  great  source  of 
hostility  between  the  kindred  nations  have  hitherto 
proved  equally  unavailing.  One  short  interval  has 
occurred  since  the  peace,  during  which  a  war  broke 
out  between  France  and  Spain,  to  which  Britain  was 
neutral,  and  the  views  of  her  ruling  Statesmen  were 
then  favorable  to  the  rights  of  neutrality.  Had  that 
war  been  of  longer  continuance,  the  prospects  of  a 
mitigation  of  the  customs  of  maritime  warfare  might 
have  been  more  propitious  ;  but  we  can  now  only  in 
dulge  the  hope  that  the  glory  of  extinguishing  the 
flames  of  war  by  land  and  sea  is  reserved  for  the  fu 
ture  destinies  of  our  confederated  land. 

The  peace  with  Great  Britain  was  succeeded  by  a 
short  war  with  Algiers,  in  which  the  first  example  was 
set  of  a  peace  with  that  piratical  power  purchased  by 
chastisement  substituted  for  tribute — and  which  set 
the  last  seal  to  the  policy  of  maintaining  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  United  States  by  a  permanent 
naval  force. 

The  revolutions  in  Spain,  and  in  her  Colonies  of 
this  hemisphere,  complicated  with  questions  of  dispu 
ted  boundaries,  and  with  claims  of  indemnity  for  dep 
redations  upon  our  commerce,  formed  subjects  for  im 
portant  negotiations  during  the  war  with  Great  Brit- 


94  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

ain,  and  after  its  close.  Never,  since  the  institution 
of  civil  society,  have  there  been  within  so  short  a 
time  so  many  assumptions  of  sovereign  powers.  The 
crown  of  Spain  was  abdicated  by  Charles  the  Fourth, 
and  then  by  his  son  Ferdinand,  while  a  prisoner  to 
Napoleon,  at  Bayonne,  transferred  to  the  house  of 
Bonaparte,  as  the  kingdom  of  Naples  had  been  by 
conquest  before.  In  Germany,  the  dissolution  of  the 
German  empire  had  generated  a  kingdom  of  West 
phalia,  and  converted  into  kingdoms  the  electorates  of 
Saxony,  of  Bavaria,  of  Wurtemburg  and  of  Hanover. 
The  kingdom  of  Portugal  had  been  overshadowed  by 
an  empire  of  Brazil,  and  every  petty  province  of 
Spain  in  this  hemisphere,  down  to  the  Floridas  and 
Amelia  Island,  constituted  themselves  into  sovereign 
States,  unfurled  their  flags  and  claimed  their  seats 
among  the  potentates  of  the  earth.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances,  it  became  often  a  question  of  great  deli 
cacy,  who  should  be  recognised  as  such,  and  with 
whom  an  exchange  of  diplomatic  functionaries  should 
be  made.  There  was,  during  Mr.  Madison's  admin 
istration,  a  period  during  which  war  was  waged  in 
Spain  for  the  restoration  of  a  Prince  who  had  himself 
renounced  his  throne.  A  regency  acting  in  his  name 
was  recognized  by  Great  Britain,  under  whose  auspi 
ces  he  was  finally  restored.  Napoleon  "had  given  the 
crown  of  Spain,  wrested  by  fraud  and  violence  from 
the  Bourbons,  to  his  brother,  who  was  recognized  as 
king  of  Spain  by  all  the  continental  powers  of  Europe, 
and  it  was  in  the  conflict  between  these  two  usurpers, 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  95 

that  the  transatlantic  Colonies  of  Spain  in  this  hemis 
phere,  disclaiming  allegiance  to  either  of  the  conten 
ding  parties,  asserted  their  own  rights  as  independent 
communities.  Mr.  Madison  believed  it  to  be  the  duty 
and  the  policy  of  the  United  States,  while  the  fact  re 
mained  to  be  decided  by  the  issue  of  war,  to  withhold 
the  acknowledgment  of  sovereign  power  alike  from 
them  all.  The  reception  of  a  minister  appointed  by 
the  regency  of  Spain,  was  therefore  delayed,  until  he 
was  commissioned  by  Ferdinand  himself  after  his  res 
toration,  and  the  total  expulsion  of  his  rival  Joseph 
Bonaparte.  But  most  of  the  American  Colonies  of 
Spain,  released  from  their  bounds  of  subjection  to  a 
European  king,  by  the  first  dethronement  and  abdica 
tion  of  Charles  the  Fourth,  refused  ever  after  all  sub 
mission  to  the  monarchs  of  Spain,  and  those  on  the 
American  Continents  which  submitted  for  a  time  short 
ly  after,  declared  and  have  maintained  their  Indepen 
dence,  yet  however  unacknowledged  by  Spain.  No 
general  union  of  the  several  Colonies  of  Spain,  analo 
gous  to  that  of  the  British  Colonies  in  these  United 
States,  has  been  or  is  ever  likely  to  be  established. 
The  several  Vice  Royalties  have  in  their  dissolution, 
melted  into  masses  of  confederated  or  consolidated 
Governments.  They  have  been  ravaged  by  incessant 
internal  dissensions  and  civil  war.  As  they  attempt 
to  unite  in  one,  or  as  they  separate  into  parts,  new 
States  present  themselves,  claiming  the  prerogatives 
of  sovereignty,  and  the  powers  of  Independent  na 
tions.  The  European  kingdoms  of  France,  Spain, 


96  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

Portugal,  the  Netherlands  and  Greece  have  been  in  the 
same  convulsionary  State  with  contending  claims  of 
sovereign  power,  so  that  the  question  of  recognition, 
in  almost  numberless  cases,  and  under  a  multitude  of 
forms  has  been  before  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  for  decision. 

The  act  of  recognition,  being  an  execution  of  the 
laws  of  nations,  is  an  attribute  of  executive  power, 
and  has  therefore  been  invariably  performed  under  the 
present  Constitution  of  the  United  States  by  their 
President.  Mr.  Madison  withheld  this  recognition 
from  the  minister  of  the  Spanish  Regency,  but  yielded 
it  to  the  same  person,  when  commissioned  by  Ferdi 
nand.  He  left  to  his  successors  the  obligation  of  with 
holding  and  of  conceding  the  acknowledgment,  as  the 
duties  of  this  nation  might  from  time  to  time  forbid  or 
enjoin;  and  a  question  of  the  deepest  interest,  under 
circumstances  pregnant  with  unparalleled  consequen 
ces,  is  while  I  speak  under  the  consideration,  and  sub 
ject  to  the  decision  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

The  severest  trials  of  our  country  induced  by  the 
war  with  Great  Britain  were  endured  by  the  disorder 
of  the  national  finances.  The  revenues  of  the  Union 
until  then  had  consisted  almost  exclusively  in  the  pro 
ceeds  of  taxation  by  impost  on  imported  merchandize. 
Excises,  land  taxes,  and  taxes  upon  stamps  were  re 
sorted  to  during  the  war,  but  were  always  found  more 
burdensome  and  less  acceptable  to  the  people.  It  is, 
however,  a  disadvantage,  perhaps  counterbalanced  by 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON.  97 

consequences  more  permanently  beneficial  in  our  po 
litical  system,  that  the  revenue  from  impost,  more  ea 
sily  collected  and  more  productive  than  any  other  in 
time  of  peace,  must  necessarily  fail,  almost  entirely, 
in  war  with  a  nation  of  superior  maritime  force.  Our 
admirable  system  of  settlement  and  disposal  of  the 
public  lands  had  been  long  established,  but  was  at  that 
time  and  for  many  years  since  little  known  by  its 
fruits.  It  is  doubtful  whether  until  the  last  year  the 
proceeds  of  the  sales  have  been  sufficient  to  defray 
the  cost  of  the  purchase,  and  the  expenses  of  manage 
ment.  The  prices  at  which  they  are  sold  have  been 
reduced,  while  the  wages  of  labor  have  risen,  till  the 
purchaser  for  settlement  receives  them  upon  terms 
nearly  gratuitous.  They  are  now  an  inestimable 
source  of  a  copious  revenue,  and  if  honestly  and  care 
fully  managed  for  the  people  to  whom  they  belong, 
may  hereafter  alleviate  the  burden  of  taxation  in  all 
its  forms.  But  when  the  war  with  Great  Britain  was 
declared  in  1812,  the  population  of  this  Union  was 
less  than  one  half  its  numbers  at  the  present  day.  It 
increases  now  at  the  average  rate  of  half  a  million  of 
souls  every  year.  For  this  state  of  unexampled  pros 
perity  a  tribute  of  gratitude  and  applause  is  due  to  the 
administration  of  Madison,  for  the  wise  and  concilia 
tory  policy  upon  which  it  was  conducted  from  the  close 
of  the  war,  until  the  end  of  his  second  Presidential 
term,  in  March  1817,  when  he  voluntarily  retired 
from  public  life. 

From  that  day,    for   a  period  advancing  upon   its 


98  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISON. 

twentieth  year,  he  lived  in  a  happy  retirement ;  in  the 
bosom  of  a  family,  and  with  a  partner  for  life  alike 
adapted  to  the  repose  and  comfort  of  domestic  priva 
cy,  as  she  had  been  to  adorn  and  dignify  the  highest  of 
public  stations.  Between  the  occupations  of  agricul 
ture,  the  amusements  of  literature,  and  the  exercise 
of  beneficence,  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  of  the  mind 
and  of  the  heart,  the  leisure  of  his  latter  days  was  di 
vided.  In  1829,  a  Convention  was  held  in  Virginia  for 
the  revisal  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Commonwealth, 
in  which  transaction  the  people  of  the  State  again  en 
joyed  the  benefit  of  his  long  experience  and  his  calm 
and  conciliatory  counsels.  The  unanimous  sense  of 
that  body  would  have  deferred  to  him  the  honor  of 
presiding  over  their  deliberations,  but  the  infirmities 
of  age  had  already  so  far  encroached  upon  the  vigor 
of  his  constitution,  that  he  declined  in  the  most  deli 
cate  manner  the  nomination,  by  proposing  himself  the 
election  of  his  friend  and  successor  to  the  Chief  Mag 
istracy  of  the  Union,  James  Monroe.  He  was  accor 
dingly  chosen  without  any  other  nomination,  but  was 
afterwards  himself  so  severely  indisposed,  that  he  was 
compelled  to  resign  both  the  Presidency  and  his  seat 
in  the  Convention  before  they  had  concluded  their 
labors. 

On  one  occasion  of  deep  interest  to  the  people  of 
the  State,  on  the  question  of  the  ratio  of  representa 
tion  in  the  two  branches  of  the  Legislature,  Mr.  Madi 
son  took  an  active  part,  and  made  a  speech  the  sub 
stance  of  which  has  been  preserved. 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MADISOA.  99 

"  Such  in  those  moments  as  in  all  the  past." 

This  speech  is  so  perfectly  characteristic  of  the  man, 
that  it  might  itself  be  considered  as  an  epitome  of  his 
life.  Though  delivered  upon  a  question,  which  in  a 
discussion  upon  a  Constitution  of  this  Commonwealth 
could  not  even  be  raised,  it  was  upon  a  subject  which 
probed  to  the  deepest  foundations  the  institution  of 
civil  society.  It  was  upon  the  condition  of  the  colored 
population  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  upon  their  re 
lations  as  persons  and  as  property  to  the  State.  Every 
part  of  the  speech  is  full  of  the  spirit  which  animated 
him  through  life.  Nor  can  I  resist  the  ten^ation  to 
repeat  a  few  short  passages  from  it,  which  may  serve 
as  samples  of  the  whole. 

"It  is  sufficiently  obvious,  said  Mr.  Madison,  thati/ 
persons  and  property  are  the  two  great  objects  on 
which  Governments  are  to  act  ;  that  the  rights  of 
persons  and  the  rights  of  property  are  the  objects  for 
the  protection  of  which  Government  was  instituted. 
These  rights  cannot  well  be  separated.  The  personal 
right  to  acquire  property,  which  is  a  natural  right, 
gives  to  property  when  acquired,  a  right  to  protec 
tion,  as  a  social  right." 

u  It  is  due  to  justice  ;  due  to  humanity  ;  due  to 
truth  ;  to  the  sympathies  of  our  nature  in  fine,  to  our 
character  as  a  people,  both  abroad  and  at  home  ;  that 
the  colored  part  of  our  population  should  be  consider 
ed,  as  much  as  possible,  in  the  light  of  human  beings, 
and  not  as  mere  property.  As  such,  they  are  acted 
upon  by^our  laws,  and  have  an  interest  in  our  laws." 


100  LIFE    OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

"In  framing  a  Constitution,  great  difficulties  are 
necessarily  to  be  overcome  ;  and  nothing  can  ever 
overcome  them  but  a  spirit  of  compromise.  Other 
nations  are  surprised  at  nothing  so  much  as  our  having 
been  able  to  form  constitutions  in  the  manner  which 
has  been  exemplified  in  this  country.  Even  the  union 
of  so  many  States,  is,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  a 
wonder  ;  the  harmonious  establishment  of  a  common 
Government  over  them  all,  a  miracle.  I  cannot  but 
flatter  myself  that  without  a  miracle,  we  shall  be  able 
to  arrange  all  difficulties.  I  never  have  despaired, 
notwithstanding  all  the  threatening  appearances  we 
have  passed  through.  I  have  now  more  than  a  hope 
— a  consoling  confidence — that  we  shall  at  last  find 
that  our  labors  have  not  been  in  vain." 

Mr.  Madison  was  associated  with  his  friend  Jeffer 
son  in  the  institution  of  the  University  of  Virginia, 
and  after  his  decease  was  placed  at  its  head,  under 
the  modest  and  unassuming  title  of  Rector.  He  was 
also  the  President  of  an  Agricultural  Society  in  the 
county  of  his  residence,  and  in  that  capacity  delivered 
an  address,  which  the  practical  farmer  and  the  classi 
cal  scholar  may  read  with  equal  profit  and  delight. 

In  the  midst  of  these  occupations  the  declining  days 
of  the  Philosopher,  the  Statesman,  and  the  Patriot 
were  past,  until  the  28th  day  of  June  last,  the  anni 
versary  of  the  day  on  which  the  ratification  of  the 
Convention  of  Virginia  in  1788  had  affixed  the  seal  of 
James  Madison  as  the  father  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  when  his  earthly  part  sunk  without 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  101 

a  struggle  into  the  grave,  and  a  spirit  bright  as  the 
seraphim  that  surround  the  throne  of  omnipotence, 
ascended  to  the  bosom  of  his  God. 

This  Constitution,  my  countrymen,  is  the  great  re 
sult  of  the  North  American  revolution.  This  is  the 
giant  stride  in  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of 
the  human  race,  consummated  in  a  period  of  less  than 
one  hundred  years.  Of  the  signers  of  the  address  to 
George  the  Third  in  the  Congress  of  1774 — of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776 — 
of  the  signers  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  in 
1781,  and  of  the  signers  of  the  federal  and  national 
Constitution  of  Government  under  which'  we  live, 
with  enjoyments  never  before  allotted  to  man,  not  one 
remains  in  the  land  of  the  living.  The  last  survivor 
of  them  all  was  he  to  honor  whose  memory  we  are 
here  assembled  at  once  with  mourning  and  with  joy. 
We  reverse  the  order  of  sentiment  and  reflection  of 
the  ancient  Persian  king — we  look  back  on  the  cen 
tury  gone  by — we  look  around  with  anxious  and  eager 
eye  for  one  of  that  illustrious  host  of  Patriots  and 
heroes,  under  whose  guidance  the  revolution  of 
American  Independence  was  begun,  and  continued  and 
completed.  We  look  around  in  vain.  To  them  this 
crowded  theatre,  full  of  human  life,  in  all  its  stages 
of  existence,  full  of  the  glowing  exultation  of  youth, 
of  the  steady  maturity  of  manhood,  the  sparkling 
eyes  of  beauty,  and  the  grey  hairs  of  reverend 
age — all  this  to  them  is  as  the  solitude  of  the 
sepulchre.  We  think  of  this  and  say,  how  short  is 


102  LIFE    OF    JAMES     MADISON. 

human  life  !  But  then,  then,  we  turn  back  our 
thoughts  again,  to  the  scene  over  which  the  falling 
curtain  has  but  now  closed  upon  the  drama  of  the 
day.  From  the  saddening  thought  that  they  are  no 
more,  we  call  for  comfort  upon  the  memory  of  what 
they  were,  and  our  hearts  leap  for  joy,  that  they  were 
our  fathers.  We  see  them,  true  and  faithful  subjects 
of  their  sovereign,  first  meeting  with  firm  but  respect 
ful  remonstrance,  the  approach  of  usurpation  upon 
their  rights.  We  see  them,  fearless  in  their  fortitude, 
and  confident  in  the  righteousness  of  their  cause,  bid 
defiance  to  the  arm  of  power,  and  declare  themselves 
Independent  States.  We  see  them,  waging  for  seven 
years  a  war  of  desolation  and  of  glory,  in  most  un 
equal  contest  with  their  own  unnatural  step-mother, 
the  mistress  of  the  seas,  till  under  the  sign  manual  of 
their  king,  their  Independence  was  acknowledged — 
and  last  and  best  of  all,  we  see  them,  toiling  in  war 
and  in  peace  to  form  and  perpetuate  an  union,  under 
forms  of  Government  intricately  but  skilfully  adjusted 
so  as  to  secure  to  themselves  and  their  posterity  the 
priceless  blessings  of  inseparable  liberty  and  law. 

Their  days  on  earth  are  ended,  and  yet  their  cen 
tury  has  not  passed  away.  Their  portion  of  the 
blessings  which  they  thus  labored  to  secure,  they  have 
enjoyed,  arid  transmitted  to  us,  their  posterity.  We 
enjoy  them  as  an  inheritance — won,  not  by  our  toils 
— watered,  not  with  our  tears — saddened,  not  by  the 
shedding  of  any  blood  of  ours.  The  gift  of  heaven 
through  their  sufferings  and  their  achievements — but 


LIFE  OF  JAMES  MADISON.  103 

not  without  a  charge  of  corresponding  duty  incum 
bent  upon  ourselves. 

And  what,  my  friends  and  fellow  citizens — wThat  is 
that  duty  of  our  own  ]  Is  it  to  remonstrate  to  the 
adder's  ear  of  a  king  beyond  the  Atlantic  wave,  and 
claim  from  him  the  restoration  of  violated  rights  ? 
No.  Is  it  to  sever  the  ties  of  kindred  and  of  blood 
with  the  people  from  whom  we  sprang  ]  To  cast 
away  the  precious  name  of  Britons,  and  be  no  more 
the  countrymen  of  Shakspeare  and  Milton — of  New 
ton  and  Locke — of  Chatham  and  Burke  1  Or  more 
and  worse,  is  it  to  meet  their  countrymen  in  the  deadly 
conflict  of  a  seven  years'  war  1  No.  Is  it  the  last  and 
greatest  of  the  duties  fulfilled  by  them  ]  Is  it  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  the  fairest  Government  and  the 
mightiest  nation  that  ever  floated  on  the  tide  of  time  ] 
No !  These  awful  and  solemn  duties  were  allotted  to 
them  ;  and  by  them  they  were  faithfully  performed. 
What  then  is  our  duty  1 

Is  it  not  to  preserve,  to  cherish,  to  improve  the  in 
heritance  which  they  have  left  us — won  by  their  toils 
— watered  by  their  tears — saddened  but  fertilized  "by 
their  blood  I  Are  we  the  sons  of  worthy  sires,  and  in 
the  onward  march  of  time  have  they  achieved  in  the 
career  of  human  improvement  so  much,  only  that  our 
posterity  and  theirs  may  blush  for  the  contrast  be 
tween  their  unexampled  energies  and  our  nerveless 
impotence  1  between  their  more  than  Herculean 
labors  and  our  indolent  repose  ]  No,  my  fellow 
citizens,  far  be  from  us  ;  far  be  from  you,  for  he  who 


104  LIFE    OF  JAMES  MADISON. 

now  addresses  you  has  but  a  few  short  days  before  he 
shall  be  called  to  join  the  multitude  of  ages  past — far 
be  from  you  the  reproach  or  the  suspicion  of  such  a 
degrading  contrast.  You  too  have  the  solemn  duty 
to  perform,  of  improving  the  condition  of  your 
species,  by  improving  your  own.  Not  in  the  great 
and  strong  wind  of  a  revolution,  which  rent  the  moun 
tains  and  brake  in  pieces  the  rocks  before  the  Lord — 
for  the  Lord  is  not  in  the  wind — not  in  the  earthquake 
of  a  revolutionary  war,  marching  to  the  onset  be 
tween  the  battle  field  and  the  scaffold — for  the  Lord 
is  not  in  the  earthquake — not  in  the  fire  of  civil  dis 
sension — in  war  between  the  members  and  the  head — 
in  nullification  of  the  laws  -of  the  Union  by  the  for 
cible  resistance  of  one  refractory  State — for  the  Lord 
is  not  in  the  fire  ;  and  that  fire  was  never  kindled  by 
your  fathers  !  No !  it  is  in  the  still  small  voice  that 
succeeded  the  whirlwind,  the  earthquake  and  the  fire. 
The  voice  that  stills  the  raging  of  the  waves  and  the 
tumults  of  the  people — that  spoke  the  words  of  peace 
— of  harmony — of  union.  And  for  that  voice,  may 
you  and  your  children's  children,  "  to  the  last  syllable 
of  recorded  time,"  fix  your  eyes  upon  the  memory, 
and  listen  with  your  ears  to  the  life  of  James  Madison. 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


LONG  previous  to  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Jefferson's 
second  presidential  term,  the  general  sentiment  of  the 
Republican  party,  particularly  in  the  southern  and 
western  states,  appeared  to  be  in  favor  of  Mr.  Madi 
son  as  his  successor.  It  seemed  peculiarly  appropri 
ate  that  he  should  be  selected  for  that  high  office,  in 
order  that  the  delicate  negotiations  with  England  and 
France  which  he  had  so  long  conducted, — as  was  con 
ceded  on  all  hands,  with  masterly  ability, — might  be 
brought  to  a  satisfactory  termination  under  his  imme 
diate  auspices.  The  New  York  Republicans,  and  es 
pecially  the  Clinton  family  and  their  friends,  had  for 
some  time  looked  forward  with  confidence,  to  the 
nomination  of  their  distinguished  leader  and  head, 
George  Clinton,  then  filling  the  second  office  in  the 
Nation  ;  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  their  expec 
tations  would  have  been  realized,  had  he  been  a  younger 
and  more  active  man,  or  had  the  foreign  relations  of 
the  government  been  in  a  less  complicated  state.  But 
at  the  caucus  of  the  Republican  members  of  Congress 

held  just  before  the  close  of  the  session,  in  the  winter 

5* 


106 

of  1808,  Mr.  Madison  was  the  successful  candidate, 
and  Mr.  Clinton  was  renominated  for  the  Vice  Presi 
dency. 

Some  little  dissatisfaction  was  manifested  by  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Clinton;  and  he  himself  hesitated  about 
accepting  the  nomination,  but  did  not  decline  in  the 
end.  The  canvass  terminated  with  the  election  of  the 
candidates  nominated  in  the  caucus,  by  a  very  large 
majority, — Mr.  Madison  receiving  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  of  the  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  elec 
toral  votes. 

On  the  4th  day  of  March,  1809,  Mr.  Madison  took 
the  oath  of  office,  and  delivered  his  inaugural  address, 
in  the  capitol  at  Washington.  Though  the  tone  of 
the  latter  was  pacificatory,  its  author  held  out  no  hope 
that  the  lowering  aspect  of  affairs  would  soon  be 
changed  for  the  better,  but  plainly  intimated  that  the 
honor  and  interests  of  the  nation  would  be  maintained 
at  all  hazards,  and  that,  to  render  these  secure,  it 
might  be  necessary  to  resort  to  arms. 

With  reference  to  the  general  principles  which 
should  govern  him  in  the  administration  of  the  gov 
ernment,  he  said  :  "  To  cherish  peace  and  friendly  in 
tercourse  with  all  nations  having  correspondent  dispo 
sitions  ;  to  maintain  sincere  neutrality  toward  bellige 
rent  nations  ;  to  prefer  in  all  cases  amicable  discus 
sion  and  reasonable  accommodation  of  differences  to 
a  decision  of  them  by  an  appeal  to  arms  ;  to  exclude 
foreign  intrigues  and  foreign  partialities,  so  degrading 
to  all  countries  and  so  baneful  to  free  ones ;  to  foster 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  107 

a  spirit  of  independence  too  just  to  invade  the  rights 
of  others,  too  proud  to  surrender  our  own,  too  liberal 

to  indulge  unworthy  prejudices  ourselves,  and  too  ele- 

vated  not  to  look  down  upon  them  ia  others  ;  to  hold 
Ihe  union  of  the  states  as  the  basis  of  their  peace  and 
happiness  ;  to  support  the  constitution,  which  is  the 
cement  of  the  union,  as  well  in  its  limitations  as  in  its 
authorities  ;  to  respect  the  rights  and  authorities  re 
served  to  the  states  and  to  the  people,  as  equally  incor 
porated  with,  and  essential  to  the  success  of,  the  gen 
eral  system  ;  to  avoid  the  slightest  interference  with 
the  rights  of  conscience  or  the  functions  of  religion, 
so  wisely  exempted  from  civil  jurisdiction  ;  to  preserve 
in  their  full  energy  the  other  salutary  provisions  in  be 
half  of  private  and  personal  rights,  and  of  the  free 
dom  of  the  press  ;  to  observe  economy  in  public  ex 
penditures  ;  to  liberate  the  public  resources  by  an  hon 
orable  discharge  of  the  public  debts  ;  to  keep  within 
the  requisite  limits  a  standing  military  force,  always 
remembering  that  an  armed  and  trained  militia  is  the 
firmest  bulwark  of  republics — that  without  standing 
armies  their  liberties  can  never  be  in  danger,  nor  with 
large  ones  safe  ;  to  promote  by  authorized  means, 
improvements  friendly  to  agriculture,  to  manufactures, 
and  to  external  as  well  as  internal  commerce  ;  to  fa 
vor  in  like  manner  the  advancement  of  science  and 
the  diffusion  of  information  as  the  best  aliment  to  true 
liberty  ;  to  carry  on  the  benevolent  plans  which  have 
been  so  meritoriously  applied  to  the  conversion  of  our 
aboriginal  neighbors  from  the  degradation  and  wretch- 


108  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

edness  of  savage  life  to  a  participation  of  the  improve 
••  merits  of  which  the  human  mind  and  manners  are 
susceptible  in  a  civilized  state  ;  as  far  as  sentiments 
and  intentions  such  as  these  can  aid  the  fulfilment  of 
my  duty,  they  will  be  a  resource  which  cannot 
fail  me." 

As  if  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt,  that  he  cordially 
and  heartily  concurred  in  the  views  and  opinions 
which  had  ever  guided  and  controlled  the  public  ca 
reer  of  his  distinguished  predecessor,  and  which,  at 
the  recent  election,  had  been  a  third  time  emphatical 
ly  endorsed  and  approved  by  the  American  people,  he 
further  remarked  : — "  It  is  my  good  fortune,  moreover, 
to  have  the  path  in  which  I  am  to  tread  lighted  by  ex 
amples  of  illustrious  services,  successfully  rendered 
in  the  most  trying  difficulties  by  those  who  have 
marched  before  me.  Of  those  of  my  immediate  pre 
decessor  it  might  least  become  me  here  to  speak.  I 
may,  however,  be  pardoned  for  not  suppressing  the 
sympathy  with  which  my  heart  is  full,  in  the  rich  re 
ward  he  enjoys  in  the  benedictions  of  a  beloved  coun 
try,  gratefully  bestowed  for  exalted  talents,  zealously 
devoted,  through  a  long  career,  to  the  advancement  of 
its  highest  interest  and  happiness." 

Immediately  after  his  inauguration,  Mr.  Madison  or 
ganized  his  cabinet  by  the  promotion  of  Robert  Smith, 
of  Maryland,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  under  Mr.  Jef 
ferson,  to  the  State  Department.  Albert  Gallatin,  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  continued  in  the  office  of  Secreta 
ry  of  the  Treasury,  and  Caesar  A.  Rodney,  of  Dela- 


109 

ware,  in  that  of  attorney-general.  William  Eustis, 
of  Massachusetts,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War, 
in  the  place  of  Henry  Dearborn,  transferred  to  the 
collectorship  of  the  port  of  Boston  ;  and  the  vacancy 
in  the  Navy  Department  was  filled  by  the  selection  of 
Paul  Hamilton,  of  South  Carolina.  Gideon  Granger, 
of  New  York,  was  continued  as  postmaster  general, 
not  then  a  cabinet  officer. 

Having  completed  the  list  of  his  advisers,  when  the 
new  president  turned  to  survey  his  position,  he  found 
that  it  was  by  no  means  an  enviable  one.  The  firm 
ness,  the  unflinching  determination,  and  the  resolute 
and  enthusiastic  perseverance  of  Jefferson,  Gallatin, 
Clinton,  Livingston,  and  their  coadjutors,  had,  indeed, 
been  successful  in  restoring  the  ship  of  state  to  the 
republican  track  ;  yet  he  had  inherited,  as  a  legacy, 
all  the  embarrassments  and  difficulties  in  the  foreign 
relations  of  the  government,  which  had  originated  du 
ring  the  administration  of  Washington,  and,  from  year 
to  year,  become  more  and  more  involved,  and  grown 
more  and  more  perplexing,  till  it  seemed  as  if  the 
Gordian  knot  could  be  severed  only  by  the  sword.  At 
home  all  might  have  been  peace  and  prosperity  ;  but 
every  thing  that  would  otherwise  have  appeared  bright 
and  fair,  rested  in  the  dark  shadow  thrown  from  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

"  Many  years  elapsed  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty  of  peace  in  1783,  before  Great  Britain  entirely 
abandoned  her  expectations  of  re-establishing,  at  some 
future,  and  not  very  remote  day,  her  authority  over 


110  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

her  revolted  American  colonies.  Jt  was  customary 
for  her  writers  and  politicians  to  underrate  the  im 
portance,  and  sneer  at  the  pretensions  of  the  young 
republic,  till  they  saw,  in  the  rapidly  extending  com 
merce  and  growing  prosperity  which  followed  the 
restoration  of  peace  and  tranquility,  unmistakable 
indications  that  the  daughter  would  soon  be  no  mean 
rival  of  the  mother  country  in  the  race  of  nations. 
To  check  these  germs  of  greatness  ere  they  should 
bud  and  blossom,  was  now  the  favorite  object  of  En 
glish  statesmen.  As  no  pretext  existed  for  open  hos 
tilities,  resort  was  had  to  the  low  arts  of  diplomacy — 
to  intrigue  and  cunning ;  and  amid  the  moral  and  poli 
tical  corruption  which,  at  that  era,  polluted  the  atmo 
sphere  of  St.  James,  plans  were  concocted  whose 
atrocity  must  ever  stand  out  in  bold  relief  on  the 
page  of  impartial  history. 

"  Disregarding  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  1783, 
the  British  authorities  retained  possession  of  the  military 
posts  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  and  to  these,  and  similar 
establishments  in  the  Canadas,  agents  were  sent  to 
suborn  and  tamper  with  the  savages  on  the  northern 
frontiers  of  the  American  Union,  and  incite  them  to 
commit  acts  of  hostility  upon  the  persons  and  property 
of  the  settlers  who  had  found  their  way  into  the  rich 
valley  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was  the  policy  of  Wash 
ington, — and  after  him  of  Adams,  Jefferson  and  Ma 
dison, — to  purchase  the  lands  belonging  to  the  Indian 
tribes,  required  by  the  increasing  white  population 
of  the  country,  at  a  fair  equivalent  ;  to  furnish 
mem  the  means  of  civilization  ;  to  provide  for  them 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  Ill 

the  restraints  of  well-ordered  and  wholesome  regula 
tions  ;  to  enkindle  new  desires,  and  impart  new  mo 
tives  in  their  breasts  ;  to  enlighten  their  minds  and 
christianize  their  hearts.  England,  on  the  contrary, 
forgetting  the  eloquent  and  indignant  denunciations  of 
her  Chatham,  and  careless  how  she  sullied  the  national 
escutcheon,  already  stained  by  many  a  foul  blot,  sup 
plied  them  with  arms  and  ammunition, — with  blankets, 
tobacco  and  fire  water, — not  to  induce  them  to  culti 
vate  harmony  and  good  will  with  their  neighbors,  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  ;  but  to  minister  to  their 
most  depraved  appetites,  and  arouse  the  most  vindic 
tive  passions  of  their  natures.  She  asked  them  not  to 
lay  aside  the  implements  of  death,  and  engage  in  the 
pursuits  of  peace  ;  but  invited  them  to  continue  their 
barbarous  warfare,  and  glut  their  vengeance,  to  the 
full,  with  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  ! 

"  Under  the  auspices  of  Simcoe,  and  other  agents 
of  Great  Britain,  immediately  after  the  peace,  a  com 
bination  was  formed  among  the  northwestern  Indians, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  prevent  the  Americans 
from  extending  their  settlements  beyond  the  Allegha- 
nies.  The  border  inhabitants  were  constantly  har- 
rassed  by  the  irruptions  of  the  savages  ;  scenes  of 
bloodshed  and  murder  were  of  frequent  occurrence  ; 
and  when  efforts  were  made  to  chastise  the  perpetra 
tors  of  these  outrages,  they  found  in  England  a  fast 
and  firm  friend,  whose  assistance,  though  not  openly 
rendered,  proved  of  essential  service  to  her  allies. 
Her  influence  was  felt  in  the  defeat  of  Harmar  and 


IIS 

St.  Clair  ;  and  when  the  mounted  volunteers  under 
the  gallant  Wayne,  scattered  the  savages  in  confu 
sion,  on  the  banks  of  the  Maumee,  they  fled  for  pro 
tection  beneath  the  guns  of  a  fortress  over  which 
floated  the  red  cross  of  St.  George. 

"  The  defeat  of  the  Indians  by  Wayne  was  a  severe 
lesson,  and  it  was  long  remembered.  Fortunately, 
too,  for  our  country,  who  needed  only  a  season  of 
peace,  and  reposed  from  '  war's  alarms,'  to  advance 
with  rapid  strides  to  the  high  destiny  before  her — the 
revolutionary  spirit  had,  at  this  time,  crossed  the  At 
lantic,  and  the  watch  fires  of  liberty  were  blazing  on 
the  continent  cf  Europe.  Alarmed  for  the  stability 
of  her  institutions  at  home,  England  had  no  time  to 
spend  in  courting  the  favor  of  the  North  American 
savages  ;  even  though  her  machinations  promised  to 
terminate  in  the  restoration  of  <  the  brightest  jewel  of 
her  crown.'  In  November,  1794,  three  months  after 
J  Wayne's  victory,  Mr.  Jay  concluded  his  commercial 
treaty,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that  the  western 
posts  should  be  surrendered  by  the  first  of  June,  1796, 
which  was  accordingly  done  ;  and  in  the  summer  of 
1795,  as  we  have  seen,  the  treaty  of  Grenville  was 
made  with  the  Indian  tribes.  The  quiet  thus  restored 
was  deceitful  and  temporary  in  its  duration. 

"  The  treaty  of  Mr.  Jay  provided,  among  other 
.  things,  for  compensation  for  British  spoliations  on  Ame 
rican  commerce,  growing  out  of  the  war  with  France  ; 
yet  the  ratifications  of  that  instrument  had  scarcely 
been  exchanged,  when  outrages  of  the*  same  charac- 


113 

ter,  but  greater  in  degree,  were  committed.  Taking 
advantage  of  the  distracted  state  of  affairs  on  the 
continent,  the  enterprising  citizens  of  America  had 
extensively  engaged  in  the  carrying  trade  ;  and  their 
commerce  had  increased  with  so  much  rapidity,  that 
the  jealousy  of  England  was  again  awakened.  Large 
quantities  of  American  provisions  were  also  shipped 
to  Europe,  and  especially  to  France,  and  to  her  pos 
sessions  in  the  West  Indies.  The  prices  paid  for 
which,  owing  to  the  continuance  of  hostilities,  afforded 
handsome  profits  ;  but  this  interfered,  ver  j  materially, 
with  the  determination  of  England,  by  means  of  her 
maratime  supremacy,  to  starve  the  French  people  into 
an  abandonment  of  their  republican  notions  ;  and  to 
prevent  it,  she  caused  blockades  to  be  declared,  which 
were  enforced  by  no  suitable  naval  power,  and  orders 
to  be  issued,  in  defiance  of  the  law  of  nations,  requir 
ing  neutral  vessels  to  be  seized  though  not  carrying 
articles  contraband  of  wrar. 

"  Remonstrance  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  of 
the  United  States,  was  of  no  avail.  The  example  set 
by  England  was  followed  by  France — every  act  of 
injustice  on  the  one  side  being  succeeded  by  a  still 
more  odious  one  on  the  other.  The  treaty  of  Amiens, 
in  1802,  afforded  the  Americans  a  brief  respite  ;  but, 
on  the  renewal  of  the  war,  in  the  following  year,  sei 
zures  and  condemnations  of  our  vessels  became  more 
frequent  than  ever.  England  joined  the  coalition 
formed  to  establish  continental  despotism  on  a  firmer 
basis,  and  restore  the  Bourbon  dynasty  to  the  throne 


114 

which  they  had  disgraced ;  and  she  stopped  at  nothing 
to  accomplish  her  purposes.  Not  content  with  watch 
ing  the  forts  of  France,  she  sent  her  privateers  and 
vessels  of  war,  under  her  pirate  flag,  to  hover  on  our 
coast,  and  plunder  our  commerce.  Her  navy  having 
been  seriously  reduced  in  men,  by  the  long  continued 
warfare  in  which  she  had  been  engaged,  she  likewise 
resorted  to  the  impressment  of  American  seamen,  to 
fill  up  the  complements  of  her  crews.  Large  num 
bers  of  sailors  were  taken  from  our  merchantmen  ; 
and,  to  conclude  these  high-handed  offences,  the  fri 
gate  Chesapeake  was  despoiled  of  a  portion  of  her 
crew,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  June,  1807."* 

While  these  measures,  designed  and  calculated  to 
destroy  the  commerce,  and  cripple  the  prosperity  of 
the  American  people,  were  being  systematically  pur 
sued  on  the  ocean,  the  emissaries  of  Great  Britain 
were  covertly  at  work  among  the  northwestern  sa 
vages — poisoning  their  minds,  souring  their  disposi 
tions,  inflaming  their  passions,  and  preparing  them  in 
every  way  for  the  resort  to  arms,  which,  they  fore 
saw,  must  eventually  take  place. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  had  patiently 
endured  many  an  act  of  injustice,  during  the  adminis 
tration  of  Washington,  Adams  and  Jefferson.  She 
suffered  much  in  her  weakness,  which  she  would  not 
now  tolerate  in  her  strength. 

Year  after  year  she  insisted,  through  her  envoys, 

*  Jenkins'    "  Generals  of  the  Last  War  with  Great  Britain." 


115 

on  "  the  suppression  of  impressments,  and  the  defini 
tion  of  blockades  ;"  arid  when,  in  1804,  the  British 
minister  at  Washington,  in  the  name  and  on  the  behalf 
of  his  sovereign,  distinctly  recognized  the  legitimate 
principles  of  blockade,  the  hope  was  fondly  indulged 
than  an  amicable  arrangement  of  all  existing  difficul 
ties  and  disputes  would  soon  be  made. 

But  this  hope  proved  to  be  vain  and  delusive.  Great 
Britain  was  determined  on  maintaining  her  naval  su 
periority,  and  monopolizing  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  She  regarded  no  promise — she  respected  no 
obligation.  Her  plans  were  soon  matured  ;  and  she 
attempted,  by  one  blow,  to  destroy  the  merchant  ma 
rine  of  the  infant  republic,  then  reaping  a  golden  har 
vest,  and  humble  forever  the  power  and  pride  of  her 
great  rival.  In  May,  1806,  the  famous  "  paper  block 
ade''  was  signed,  closing  the  ports  of  France,  from 
Brest  to  the  Elbe,  against  the  ships  of  neutral  nations. 
No  adequate  naval  force  was  stationed  on  the  French 
coast  to  enforce  the  blockade  ;  but  a  fleet  was  des 
patched  to  the  shores  of  the  United  States,  three 
thousand  miles  off,  to  capture  every  vessel  suspected 
of  a  design  to  evade  it.  This  act  of  aggression  on 
our  commerce,  for  such  was  its  effect  and  such  was 
its  design,  was  the  main  moving  cause  of  the  war  of 
1812. 

No  apology  can,  or  need  be  offered,  for  the  conduct 
of  France.  Yet  the  blockade  of  her  ports  was  the 
excuse  or  justification,  on  which,  as  was  natural,  she 
relied,  to  defend  the  retaliatory  decree  promulgated 


116  MADISON'S   ADMINISTRATION. 

at  Berlin,  in  the  following  November.  Patience  and 
forbearance  still  continued  to  characterize  the  conduct 
of  the  American  Government.  Though  the  sanctity 
of  her  flag  has  been  disregarded,  though  numbers  of 
seamen  had  been  impressed  from  her  vessels,  and 
though  the  national  honor  had  been  outraged  and  in 
sulted  by  the  attack  on  the  Chesapeake,  she  content 
ed  herself  with  interdicting  British  armed  vessels 
from  entering  her  harbors.  This  mild  and  moderate 
policy  but  invited  further  aggression.  On  the  llth  of 
November,  1807,  the  British  orders  in  council  were 
issued  ;  and  on  the  17th  of  December  in  the  same 
year,  the  French  Emperor  retaliated,  by  the  Milan 
decree.* 

The  United  States  were  now  "  compelled  to  de 
cide,  either  to  withdraw  their  sea-faring  citizens,  and 
their  commercial  wealth  from  the  ocean,  or  to  leave 
the  interests  of  the  mariner  and  the  merchant  expos 
ed  to  certain  destruction  ;  or  to  engage  in  open  and 
active  war  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  those  in 
terests.  The  principles  and  the  habits  of  the  Ameri 
can  government  were  still  disposed  to  neutrality  and 
peace.  In  weighing  the  nature  and  the  amount  of  the 
aggressions  which  had  been  perpetrated,  or  which 
were  threatened,  if  there  were  any  preponderance  to 
determine  the  balance  against  one  of  the  belligerent 

*The  Milan  decree  was  not  of  course,  known  to  have  been  issued,  in 
the  United  States,  when  the  Embargo  act  of  the  22d  December,  1807, 
was  passed  :  but,  nevertheless,  France  was  not  excepted  from  its  pro 
visions. 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  117 

powers  rather  than  the  other,  as  the  object  of  a  dec 
laration  of  war,  it  was  against  Great  Britain,  at  least 
upon  the  vital  interest  of  impressment,  and  the  obvi 
ous  superiority  of  her  naval  means  of  annoyance.  The 
French  decrees  were,  indeed,  as  obnoxious  in  their  for 
mation  and  design  as  the  British  orders  ;  but  the  gov 
ernment  of  France  claimed  and  exercised  no  right  of 
impressment  ;  and  the  maritime  spoliations  of  France 
were,  comparatively  restricted  not  only  by  her  own 
weakness  on  the  ocean,  but  by  the  constant  and  per 
vading  vigilance  of  the  fleets  of  her  enemy.  The 
difficulty  of  selection,  the  indiscretion  of  encounter 
ing,  at  once,  both  of  the  offending  powers  ;  and,  above 
all,  the  hope  of  an  early  return  of  justice,  under  the 
dispensations  of  the  ancient  public  law,  prevailed  in 
the  councils  of  the  American  government ;  and  it  was 
resolved  to  attempt  the  preservation  of  its  neutrality 
and  its  peace,  of  its  citizens  and  its  resources,  by  a 
voluntary  suspension  of  the  commerce  and  navigation 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  true,  that  for  the  minor 
outrages  committed  under  the  pretext  of  the  rule  of 
war  of  1756,  the  citizens  of  every  denomination  had 
demanded  from  their  government,  in  the  year  1805, 
protection  and  redress ;  it  is  true,  that  for  the  unpar 
alleled  enormities  of  the  year  1807,  the  citizens  of 
every  denomination  again  demanded  from  their  gov 
ernment  protection  and  redress  ;  but  it  is,  also,  a 
truth,  conclusively  established  by  every  manifestation 
of  the  sense  of  the  American  people,  as  well  as  of 
their  government,  that  any  honorable  means  of  pro- 


118  MADISON'S   ADMINISTRATION. 

tection  and  redress  were  preferred  to  the  last  resort 
of  arms.  The  American  government  might  honora 
bly  retire,  for  a  time,  from  the  scene  of  conflict  and 
collision  ;  but  it  could  no  longer,  with  honor,  permit 
its  flag  to  be  insulted,  its  citizens  to  be  enslaved,  and 
its  property  to  be  plundered,  on  the  highway  of  na 
tions. 

"  Under  these  impressions,  the  restrictive  system  of 
the  United  States  was  introduced.  In  December,  1807, 
an  embargo  was  imposed  upon  all  American  vessels 
and  merchandize,  on  principles  similar  to  those  which 
originated  and  regulated  the  embargo  law,  authorized 
to  be  laid  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
year  1794  ;  but  soon  afterwards,  in  the  genuine  spirit 
of  the  policy  that  prescribed  the  measure,  it  was  de 
clared  by  law,  'that  in  the  event  of  such  peace,  or 
suspension  of  hostilities  between  the  belligerent  pow 
ers  of  Europe,  or  such  changes  in  their  measures  af 
fecting  neutral  commerce,  as  might  render  that  of  the 
United  States  safe,  in  the  judgment  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  he  was  authorized  to  suspend  the 
embargo,  in  whole  or  in  part.'  The  pressure  of  the 
embargo  was  thought,  however,  so  severe  upon  every 
part  of  the  community,  that  the  American  government 
notwithstanding  the  neutral  character  of  the  measure, 
determined  upon  some  relaxation ;  and,  accordingly, 
the  embargo  being  raised,  as  to  all  other  nations,  a 
system  of  non-intercourse  and  non-importation  was 
substituted,  in  March,  1809,  as  to  Great  Britain  and 
France,  which  prohibited  all  voyages  to  the  British 


MADISON  S  ADMINISTRATION.  119 

or  French  dominions,  and  all  trade  in  articles  of  Brit 
ish  or  French  product  or  manufacture.*  But  still  ad 
hering  to  the  neutral  and  pacific  policy  of  the  govern 
ment,  it  was  declared,  '  that  the  President  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  should  be  authorized,  in  case  either  France 
or  Great  Britain  should  so  revoke  or  modify  her  edicts, 
as  that  they  should  cease  to  violate  the  neutral  com 
merce  of  the  United  States,  to  declare  the  same  by 
proclamation,  after  which  the  trade  of  the  United 
States  might  be  renewed  with  the  government  so  do 
ing.'  These  appeals  to  the  justice  and  the  interests  of 
the  belligerent  powers  proving  ineffectual,  and  the  ne 
cessities  of  the  country  increasing,  it  was  finally  re 
solved  by  the  American  government  to  take  the  haz 
ards  of  a  war  ;  to  revoke  its  restrictive  system,  and 
to  exclude  British  and  French  armed  vessels  from  the 
harbors  and  waters  of  the  United  States  ;  but,  again, 
emphatically  to  announce,  '  that  in  case  either  Great 
Britain  or  France  should,  before  the  3d  of  March, 
1811,  so  revoke  or  modify  her  edicts,  as  that  they 
should  cease  to  violate  the  neutral  commerce  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  if  the  other  nation  should  not, 
within  three  months  thereafter,  so  revoke  or  modify 
her  edicts,  in  like  manner,  the  provisions  of  the  non- 
intercourse  and  non-importation  law  should,  at  the  ex 
piration  of  three  months,  be  revived  against  t  the  na- 


*The  non-intercourse  law  was  passed  on  the  1st  day  of  March,  1809, 
three  days  previous  to  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Madison. 


120  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

tion  refusing,  or  neglecting  to  revoke   or  modify    its 
edict.'* 

"On  the  expiration  of  three  months  from  the  date 
of  the  president's  proclamation,  the  non-intercourse 
and  non-importation  law  was,  of  course,  to  be  revived 
against  Great  Britain,  unless,  during  that  period,  her 
orders  in  council  should  be  revoked.  The  subject 
was,  therefore  most  anxiously  and  most  steadily  press 
ed  upon  the  justice  and  the  magnanimity  of  the  Brit 
ish  government  ;  and  even  when  the  hope  of  success 
expired,  by  the  lapse  of  the  period  prescribed  in  one 
act  of  Congress,  the  United  States  opened  the  door 
of  reconciliation  by  another  act,  which,  in  the  year 
1811,  again  provided,  that  in  case,  at  any  time,  Great 
Britain  should  so  revoke  or  modify  her  edicts,  as  that 
they  shall  cease  to  violate  the  neutral  commerce  of 
the  United  States,  the  President  of  the  United  States 
should  declare  the  fact  by  proclamation  ;  and  that  the 
restrictions,  previously  imposed,  should,  from  the  date 
of  such  proclamation,  cease  and  be  discontinued.'! 
But,  unhappily,  every  appeal  to  the  justice  and  mag 
nanimity  of  Great  Britain  was  now,  as  heretofore, 
fruitless  and  forlorn.  She  had,  at  this  epoch,  impress 
ed  from  the  crews  of  American  merchant  vessels, 
peaceably  navigating  the  high  seas,  not  less  than  six 
thousand  mariners,  who  claimed  to  be  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  were  denied  all  opportunity  to 
verify  their  claims.  She  had  seized  and  confiscated 

•Act  of  Congress,  May  1st,  1810.    tAct  of  Congress,  March  2d,  1811. 


•121 

the  commercial  property  of  American  citizens  to  an 
incalculable  amount.  She  had  united  in  the  enormi 
ties  of  France  to  declare  a  great  proportion  of  the  ter 
raqueous  globe  in  a  state  of  blockade :  chasing  the 
American  merchant  flag  effectually  from  the  ocean. 
She  had  contemptuously  disregarded  the  neutrality  of 
the  American  territory,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
American  laws,  within  the  waters  and  harbors  of  the 
United  States.  She  was  enjoying  the  emoluments  of 
a  surreptitious  trade,  stained  with  every  species  of 
fraud  and  corruption,  which  gave  to  the  belligerent 
powers  the  advantages  of  peace,  while  the  neutral 
powers  were  involved  in  the  evils  of  war.  She  had, 
in  short,  usurped  and  exercised  on  the  water,  a  tyran 
ny  similar  to  that  which  her  great  antagonist  had 
usurped  and  exercised  upon  the  land.  And,  amidst  all 
these  proofs  of  ambition  and  avarice,  she  demanded 
that  the  victims  of  her  usurpations  and  her  violence 
should  revere  her  as  the  sole  defender  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  mankind. 

"  When,  therefore,  Great  Britain,  in  manifest  viola 
tion  of  her  solemn  promise,  refused  to  follow  the  ex 
ample  of  France,  by  the  repeal  of  her  orders  in 
council,  the  American  government  was  compelled  to 
contemplate  a  resort  to  arms,  as  the  only  remaining 
course  to  be  pursued  for  its  honor,  its  independence, 
and  its  safety.  Whatever  depended  upon  the  United 
States  themselves,  the  United  States  had  performed, 
for  the  preservation  of  peace,  in  resistance  of  the 

French   decrees   as   well    as   of  the   British   orders. 
6 


122*  MADISON  S     ADMINISTRATION. 

What  had  been  required  from  France,  in  its  relation 
to  the  neutral  character  of  the  United  States,  France 
had  performed  by  the  revocation  of  its  Berlin  and 
Milan  decrees.  But  what  depended  upon  Great  Brit 
ain,  for  the  purposes  of  justice,  in  the  repeal  of  her 
orders  in  council,  was  withheld,  and  new  evasions 
were  sought  when  the  old  were  exhausted.  It  was, 
at  one  time,  alleged  that  satisfactory  proof  was  not 
afforded  that  France  had  repealed  her  decrees  against 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  as  if  such  proof 
alone  were  wanting  to  ensure  the  performance  of  the 
British  promise.  At  another  time  it  was  insisted  that 
the  repeal  of  the  French  decrees  in  their  operation 
against  the  United  States,  in  order  to  authorize  a  de 
mand  for  the  performance  of  the  British  promise, 
must  be  total,  applying  equally  to  their  internal  and 
their  external  effects  ;  as  if  the  United  States  had 
either  the  right  or  the  power  to  impose  upon  France 
the  law  of  her  domestic  institutions.  And  it  was 
finally  insisted,  in  a  dispatch  from  Lord  Castlereagh 
to  the  British  minister  residing  at  Washington,  in  the 
year  1812,  which  was  officially  communicated  to  the 
American  government,  '  that  the  decrees  of  Berlin 
and  Milan  must  not  be  repealed  singly  and  specially 
in  relation  to  the  United  States  ;  but  must  be  repealed 
also  as  to  all  other  neutral  nations  ;  and  that  in  no 
less  extent  of  a  repeal  of  the  French  decrees,  had  the 
British  government  ever  pledged  itself  to  repeal  the 
orders  in  Council  ;'*  as  if  it  were  incumbent  on  the 

*  Correspondence  between  the  American  Secretary  and  Mr.    Foster 
the   British  minister,   June,  1812. 


MADISON'S   ADMINISTRATION.  123 

United  States  not  only  to  assert  her  own  rights,  but 
to  become  the  coadjutor  of  the  British  government,  in 
a  gratuitous  assertion  of  the  rights  of  all  other  nations. 

"  The  Congress  of  the  United  "States  could  pause 
no  longer.  Under  a  deep  and  afflicting  sense  of  the 
national  wrongs  and  the  national  resentments,  while 
they  '  postponed  definite  measures  with  respect  to 
France,  in  the  expectation  that  the  result  of  unclosed 
discussions  between  the  American  minister  at  Paris 
and  the  French  government,  would  speedily  enable 
them  to  decide,  with  greater  advantage,  on  the 
course  due  to  the  rights,  the  interests,  and  the  honor 
of  the  country,'*  they  pronounced  a  deliberate  and 
solemn  declaration  of  war  between  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  on  the  18th  of  June,  1812. 

"  But  it  is  in  the  face  of  all  the  facts  which  have 
been  displayed  in  the  present  narrative,  that  the 
prince  regent,  by  his  declaration  of  January,  1813, 
describes  the  United  States  as  the  aggressor  in  the 
war.  If  the  act  of  declaring  war  constitutes,  in  all 
cases,  the  act  of  original  aggression,  the  United  States 
must  submit  to  the  severity  of  the  reproach  ;  but  if 
the  act  of  declaring  war  may  be  more  truly  con 
sidered  as  the  result  of  long  suffering  and  necessary 
self-defence,  the  American  government  will  stand  ac 
quitted  in  the  sight  of  Heaven  and  of  the  world. 
Have  the  United  States,  then,  enslaved  the  subjects, 
confiscated  the  property,  prostrated  the  commerce, 

*  President's  Message,  June  1st,  1812,  and  report  of  the  committee 
of  Foreign  Relations. 


124  4  ^lilh^bf^S    ADMINISTRATION. 

insulted  the  flag,  or  violated  the  territorial  sovereign 
ty  of  Great  Britain  ]  No  ;  but  in  all  these  respects 
the  United  States  had  suffered  for  a  long  period  of 
years,  previously  to  the  declaration  of  war,  the 
contumely  and  outrage  of  the  British  government. 
It  has  been  said,  too,  as  an  aggravation  of  the  im 
puted  aggression,  that  the  United  States  chose  a  pe 
riod  for  their  declaration  of  war  when  Great  Britain 
was  struggling  for  her  own  existence  against  a  power 
which  threatened  to  overthrow  the  independence  of 
all  Europe  ;  but  it  might  be  more  truly  said,  that  the 
United  States,  not  acting  upon  choice,  but  upon  com 
pulsion,  delayed  the  declaration  of  war  until  the  per 
secutions  of  Great  Britain  had  rendered  further  delay 
destructive  and  disgraceful.  Great  Britain  had  con- 

O 

verted  the  commercial  scenes  of  American  opulence 
and  prosperity  into  scenes  of  comparative  poverty  and 
distress.  She  had  brought  the  existence  of  the  United 
States,  as  an  independent  nation,  into  question  ;  and 
surely  it  must  have  been  indifferent  to  the  United 
States  whether  they  ceased  to  exist  as  an  independent 
nation,  by  her  conduct,  while  she  professed  friend 
ship,  or  by  her  conduct,  when  she  avowed  enmity  and 
revenge.  Nor  is  it  true  that  the  existence  of  Great 
Britain  was  in  danger  at  the  epoch  of  the  declaration 
of  war.  The  American  government  uniformly  enter 
tained  an  opposite  opinion  ;  and,  at  all  times,  saw 
more  to  apprehend  for  the  United  States,  from  her 
maritime  power,  than  from  the  territorial  power  of 
her  enemy.  The  event  has  justified  the  opinion  and 


MADISON  S    ADMI 


apprehension.  But  what  the  United  States  asked,  as 
essential  to  their  welfare,  and  even  as  beneficial  to 
the  allies  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  European  war, 
Great  Britain,  it  is  manifest,  might  have  granted, 
without  impairing  the  resources  of  her  own  strength 
or  the  splendor  of  her  own  sovereignty  ;  for  her 
orders  in  council  have  been  since  revoked  ;  not,  it  is 
true,  as  the  performance  of  her  promise  to  follow,  in 
this  respect,  the  example  of  France,  since  she  finally 
rested  the  obligation  of  that  promise  upon  a  repeal  of 
the  French  decrees  as  to  all  nations  ;  and  the  repeal 
was  only  as  to  the  United  States  ;  nor  as  an  act  of 
national  justice  towards  the  United  States  ;  but  sim 
ply  as  an  act  of  domestic  policy,  for  the  special  ad 
vantage  of  her  own  people. 

"  The  British  government  has  also  described  the  war 
as  a  war  of  aggrandizement  and  conquest  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States  ;  but  where  is  the  foundation  for 
the  charge  ?  While  the  American  government  em 
ployed  every  means  to  dissuade  the  Indians,  even 
those  who  lived  within  the  territory,  and  were  sup 
plied  by  the  bounty  of  the  United  States  from  taking 
any  part  in  the  war,  the  proofs  were  irresistible  that 
the  enemy  pursued  a  very  different  course  ;  and  that 
every  precaution  would  be  necessary  to  prevent  the 
effects  of  an  offensive  alliance  between  the  British 
troops  and  the  savages  throughout  the  northern  fron 
tier  of  the  United  States.  The  military  occupation 
of  Upper  Canada  was,  therefore,  deemed  indispen 
sable  to  the  safety  of  that  frontier  in  the  earliest 


126  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

movements  of  the  war,  independent  of  all  views  of 
extending  the  territorial  boundary  of  the  United 
States.  But  when  war  was  declared,  in  resentment 
for  injuries  which  had  been  suffered  upon  the  Atlantic, 
what  principle  of  ptiblic  law,  what  modification  of  civ 
ilized  warfare,  imposed  upon  the  United  States  the 
duty  of  abstaining  from  the  invasion  of  the  Canadas  1 
It  was  there  alone  that  the  United  States  could  place 
themselves  upon  an  equal  footing  of  military  force 
with  Great  Britain  ;  and  it  was  there  that  they  might 
reasonably  encourage  the  hope  of  being  able,  in  the 
prosecution  of  a  lawful  retaliation,  to  restrain  the 
violence  of  the  enemy,  and  to  retort  upon  him  the 
evils  of  his  own  injustice.  The  proclamations  issued 
by  the  American  commanders  on  entering  Upper  Can 
ada,  have,  however,  been  adduced  by  the  British 
negotiators  at  Ghent,  as  the  proofs  of  a  spirit  of  am 
bition  and  aggrandizement  on  the  part  of  their  go 
vernment.  In  truth,  the  proclamations  were  not  only 
unauthorized  and  disapproved,  but  were  infractions  of 
the  positive  instructions  which  had  been  given  for  the 
conduct  of  the  war  in  Canada.  When  the  general, 
commanding  the  northwestern  army  of  the  United 
States,  received,  on  the  24th  of  June,  1812,  his  first 
authority  to  commence  offensive  preparations,  he  was 
especially  told  that  'he  must  not  consider  himself  au 
thorized  to  pledge  the  government  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Canada  further  than  assurances  of  protection  in 
their  persons,  property  and  rights.'  And  on  the  en 
suing  1st  of  August,  it  was  emphatically  declared  to 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  127 

him,  *  that  it  had  become  necessary  that  he  should  not 
lose  sight  of  the  instructions  of  the  24th  of  June,  as 
any  pledge  beyond  that  was  incompatible  with  the 
views  of  the  government.'  Such  was  the  nature  of 
the  charge  of  American  ambition  ~nd  aggrandizement, 
and  such  the  evidence  to  support  it. 

"  The  conduct  of  the  United  States,  from  the  moment 
of  declaring  the  war,  will  serve,  as  well  as  their  previ 
ous  conduct,  to  rescue  them  from  the  unjust  reproaches 
of  Great  Britain.  When  war  was  declared,  the  or 
ders  in  council  had  been  maintained,  with  inexorable 
hostility,  until  a  thousand  American  vessels  and  their 
cargoes  had  been  seized  and  confiscated,  under  their 
operation  ;  the  British  minister  at  Washington  had, 
with  peculiar  solemnity,  announced  that  the  orders 
would  not  be  repealed,  but  upon  conditions,  which 
the  American  government  had  not  the  right,  nor  the 
power,  to  fulfil  ;  and  the  European  war,  which  had 
raged  with  little  intermission  for  twenty  years,  threat 
ened  an  indefinite  continuance.  Under  these  circum 
stances,  a  repeal  of  the  orders,  and  a  cessation  of  the 
injuries  which  they  produced,  were  events  beyond  all 
rational  anticipation.  It  appears,  however,  that  the 
orders,  under  the  influence  of  a  parliamentary  inqui 
ry  into  their  effects  upon  the  trade  and  manufactures 
of  Great  Britain,  were  provisionally  repealed  on  the 
23d  of  June,  1812,  a  few  days  subsequent  to  the 
American  declaration  of  war.  If  this  repeal  had  been 
made  known  to  the  United  States,  before  their  resort 
to  arms,  the  repeal  would  have  arrested  it ;  and  that 


128  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

cause  of  war  being  removed,  the  other  essential  cause, 
the  practice  of  impressment,  would  have  been  the  sub 
ject  of  renewed  negotiation,  under  the  auspicious  in 
fluence  of  a  partial,  yet  important,  act  of  reconcilia 
tion.  But  the  declaration  of  war,  having  announced 
the  practice  of  impressment,  as  a  principal  cause, 
peace  could  only  be  the  result  of  an  express  abandon 
ment  of  the  practice  ;  of  a  suspension  of  the  prac 
tice,  for  purposes  of  negotiation  ;  or  of  a  cessation  of 
actual  sufferance,  in  consequence  of  a  pacification  in 
Europe,  which  would  deprive  Great  Britain  of  every 
motive  for  continuing  the  practice. 

"  The  reluctance  with  which  the  United  States  had 
resorted  to  arms,  was  manifested  by  the  steps  taken  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  hostilities,  and  to  hasten  a  res 
toration  of  peace.  On  the  26th  of  June,  1812,  the 
American  charge  d'affaires,  at  London,  was  instructed 
to  make  the  proposal  of  an  armistice  to  the  British 
government,  which  might  lead  to  an  adjustment  of  all 
differences,  on  the  single  condition,  in  the  event  of  the 
orders  in  council  being  repealed,  that  instructions 
should  be  issued,  suspending  the  practice  of  impress 
ment  during  the  armistice.  This  proposal  was  soon 
followed  by  another,  admitting,  instead  of  positive  in 
structions,  an  informal  understanding  between  the  two 
governments  on  the  subject.  But  both  of  these  pro 
posals  were  unhappily  rejected.  And  when  a  third, 
which  seemed  to  leave  no  plea  for  hesitation,  as  it  re 
quired  no  other  preliminary  than  that  the  American 
minister,  at  London,  should  find  in  the  British  govern- 


129 

ment  a  sincere  disposition  to  accomodate  the  difference 
relative  to  impressment,  on  fair  conditions,  was  eva 
ded,  it  was  obvious  that  neither  a  desire  of  peace  nor 
a  spirit  of  conciliation  influenced  the  councils  of  Great 
Britain."* 

In  following  the  able  and  conclusive  vindication  of 
Mr.  Dallas, — which  could  not  be  mutilated  without 
impairing,  if  not  altogether  destroying,  much  of  its 
beauty  and  force, — we  have  been  led  to  deviate,  in 
some  degree,  from  strict  chronological  order.  To  re 
turn,  therefore,  to  the  position  of  Mr.  Madison  at  the 
outset  of  his  administration  :  He  found  himself,  as  we 
have  seen,  embarrassed  by  altercations  and  disputes 
of  long  standing,  with  the  two  great  powrers  of  the 
world, — the  one  hostile  in  feeling  as  in  conduct,  and 
the  other,  though  disposed  to  be  friendly,  compelled 
by  the  course  of  her  adversary,  to  adopt  measures  of 
retaliation,  as  unjust  to  her  ancient  ally  as  they  were 
injurious.  During  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  embargo  had  been  tried  in  vain  ;  though  suffer 
ing  much  from  the  adoption  of  this  measure,  neither 
England  nor  France  relented  in  anything  ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  our  people  who  were  engaged  in  com 
merce,  preferring  to  run  the  risk  of  evading  the  Euro 
pean  blockades,  rather  than  to  have  their  vessels  lie 
rotting  in  their  harbors,  began  to  grow  still  more  vio 
lent  in  the  utterance  of  their  complaints. 

In  order  to  alleviate,  as  far  as  was  consistent  with 
the  preservation  of  the  national  dignity,  the  burdens 

'Dallas'   Exposition. 
6* 


130 

which  weighed  so  heavily,  though  necessary  to  be 
borne,  upon  the  citizens  of  the  eastern  and  Middle 
Atlantic  states,  the  non-intercourse  system  was  substi 
tuted  for  the  embargo,  at  the  close  of  the  session  of 
Congress,  in  March,  1809.  Trusting  that  this  mani 
festation  of  a  conciliatory  spirit  would  be  followed  by 
the  adoption  of  corresponding  measures  on  the  part 
of  England,  to  whom  all  eyes  were  turned  as  the  first 
aggressor  in  this  series  of  outrages  and  insults  ;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  fearing  lest,  notwithstanding  their  de 
sire  for  peace,  they  might  be  compelled  to  take  up 
arms  in  defence  of  their  rights,  provision  was  made  by 
law,  prior  to  the  termination  of  the  session,  for  a  spe 
cial  meeting  of  the  next  Congress,  to  be  held  on  the 
22d  day  of  May  following. 

Accordingly,  the  members  of  the  eleventh  Congress 
assembled  at  the  Capitol,  at  the  time  specified  in  the 
act ;  and  the  House  of  Representatives  was  organi 
zed,  by  the  re-election  of  Joseph  B.  Varnum,  a  demo 
cratic  member  from  Massachusetts,  to  the  office  of 
Speaker.  On  the  23d  instant,  the  President  commu 
nicated  his  message  to  the  two  houses,  from  which, 
and  the  accompanying  documents,  it  appeared  that  in 
the  month  of  April  previous,  an  arrangement  had  been 
entered  into  with  the  British  minister,  Mr.  Erskine, 
by  virtue  of  which  the  commerce  between  England 
and  the  United  States  would  be  renewed,  from  and 
after  the  ensuing  10th  day  of  June. 

By  the  repeal  of  the  Embargo,  and  the  substitution 
of  a  less  obnoxious  measure,  a  favorable  opportunity 


131 

had  been  afforded  for  the  renewal  of  negotiations. 
Acting  in  accordance  with  the  spirit,  though  not  the 
letter,  of  his  instructions,  Mr.  Erskine  proposed  to 
make  satisfaction  for  the  attack  on  the  Chesapeake, 
and  to  withdraw  the  orders  in  Council,  on  the  10th  of 
June,  upon  certain  preliminary  conditions,  which  were 
promptly  complied  with  by  the  American  government; 
and  on  the  19th  of  April,  the  President  had  issued  his 
proclamation  in  conformity  with  this  arrangement. 
This  favorable  termination,  as  it  was  supposed  of  the 
existing  difficulties,  produced  a  most  happy  effect. 
The  speedy  revival  of  commerce  was  now  looked  for, 
and  peace  and  prosperity  seemed  again  to  smile  upon 
the  land.  It  was  under  such  auspicious  circumstances 
that  Congress  came  together.  The  session  was  ne 
cessarily  brief ;  and  after  the  passage  of  an  act  adopt 
ing  the  commercial  laws  to  the  new  arrangement 
with  Great  Britain,  and  some  few  others  of  minor 
importance,  the  members  again  separated. 

But  this  calm  in  the  political  atmosphere  was  of 
brief  duration.  The  British  Secretary  for  foreign  af 
fairs,  Mr.  Canning,  was  ambitious  to  become  in  the 
cabinet  what  Napoleon  was  in  the  field.  His  fiery 
and  dashing  counsels  prevailed  ;  and  the  proceedings 
of  Mr.  Erskine  were  wholly  disavowed.  The  latter 
had  insisted,  in  his  dispatches  to  his  government,  that 
his  deviation  from  the  orders  he  had  received,  had 
been  occasioned  by  a  thorough  conviction  on  his  part, 
that,  by  a  too  strict  adherence  to  the  letter  of  his  in 
structions,  he  might  lose  "  the  opportunity  of  promo- 


132  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

ting  essentially  his  Majesty's  interests  and  wishes";  but 
the  pacific  temper  and  disposition  of  the  minister  were 
not  reflected  in  the  council  chamber  of  St.  James.  So 
far  from  this,  it  was  determined  that  America  should 
be  treated  as  an  ungrateful  dependent ;  and  that  every 
overture  should  be  spurned,  till  she  sued  as  a  suppliant 
for  what  she  had  hitherto  demanded  as  a  right.  The 
offending  envoy  was  recalled,  and  another  sent  in  his 
place,  who  proved  to  be  as  ignorant  of  the  courtesies 
of  international  intercourse  as  he  was  desirous  of  urg 
ing  on  hostilities  between  the  two  countries. 

Great  occasion  was  now  given  to  the  federal  oppo 
sition  for  rejoicing,  and  they  were  prompt  to  avail 
themselves  of  it.  It  was  said  that  Mr.  Madison  and 
his  cabinet  were  aware,  at  the  time  of  entering  into 
the  arrangement  with  Mr.  Erskine,  that  the  latter 
was  exceeding  his  instructions  ;  and  that  the  whole 
proceedings  were  a  mere  trick,  the  object  of  which 
was  to  affect  the  elections.  There  was,  in  truth,  not 
the  least  foundation  for  this  charge  ;  but  it  operated 
for  a  time  prejudicially  to  the  administration.  A  deep- 
rooted  spirit  of  hostility  towards  the  English  nation, 
growing  out  of  the  feeling  excited  by  the  impressment 
of  our  seamen,  and  the  continued  aggressions  on  oui 
commerce,  was  rapidly  gaining  ground.  A  portion 
of  the  democratic  party,  neither  few  in  numbers  nor 
feeble  in  influence,  began  to  doubt  whether  the  policy 
of  the  executive  was  not  too  lukewarm  and  concila- 
tory  ;  and  the  federalists,  or  rather,  the  Hamiltonian 
branch  of  that  party,  though  professedly  opposed  to  a 


133 

collision  with  England  zealously  "fanned  the  embers," 
and  tauntingly  declared  that  Mr.  Madison  could  not 
be  "kicked  into  a  war." 

At  first,  the  President  doubted,  whether  the  disa 
vowal  of  the  arrangement  by  virtue  of  which  the  or 
ders  in  council  were  to  be  revoked,  operated  per  se  as 
a  revival  of  the  non-intercourse  act  ;  but  after  delib 
eration  with  his  cabinet,  the  question  was  decided  in 
the  affirmative,  and  a  second  proclamation  was  issued, 
reciting  the  facts  attending  the  suspension  of  the  law, 
and  announcing  that  it  was  again  in  full  force. 

Irritated  as  were  the  American  people  by  these  re 
peated  acts  of  injustice  of  the  British  government, 
they  were,  in  disposition  at  least,  fully  prepared  for 
immediate  hostilities  and  had  the  President  but  given 
the  signal,  war  would  at  once  have  resulted,  and  that 
with  the  unquestioned  approval  of  the  great  majority 
of  his  countrymen.  "Free  trade  and  sailor's  rights" 
was  repeated  from  one  extremity  of  the  Union  to  the 
other  ;  impressment,  and  the  violation  of  the  neutral 
flag,  were  the  topics  of  discussion  at  every  public 
gathering ;  and  while  old  men  gave  utterance  to  their 
opinions  in  indignant  language,  the  young  stood  by  in 
silence,  but  with  clenched  hands  and  flashing  eyes, 
and  cheeks  glowing  with  the  fire  of  manly  patriotism. 
Madison,  however,  was  cool  and  sagacious,  and  not 
by  any  means  disposed  to  precipitate  the  crisis  which 
he  foresaw,  but  hoped  to  avert.  He  still  believed, 
that  by  persisting  in  the  non-intercourse  policy,  Eng 
land  and  France  would  eventually  be  brought  to  terms. 


134  MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 

It  may  be,  that  in  his  sincere  anxiety  for  peace,  he 
was  over  cautious  ;  but  if  he  erred,  it  was  for  what, 
in  him,  was  the  most  praisworthy  of  reasons  ;  and 
though  the  impartial  historian  may  pronounce  this  to 
have  been  the  great  mistake  of  his  administration,  he 
will  still  do  justice  to  the  purity  of  his  motives. 

Had  Mr.  Madison  been  less  favorable  to  the  policy 
which  had  been  pursued,  there  were  other  reasons  for 
prudence  and  hesitation.  Though  a  period  of  nearly 
thirty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  revolution,  during 
which  time  the  country  had  been  comparatively  at 
peace,  the  memorable  advice  of  Washington  to  "pre 
pare  for  war,"  had  been  almost  if  not  quite  disregard 
ed.  Some  thing  had,  indeed,  been  done  towards  the 
fortification  of  the  sea-coast,  yet  a  great  deal  more 
was  required  before  it  would  be  placed  in  a  respectable 
state  of  defence  ;  and,  judging  from  the  past,  but  little 
reliance  could  be  placed  on  the  liberality  of  Congress 
in  making  appropriations  for  the  future, — even  upon 
those  members  who  were  the  loudest  and  most  vehe 
ment  in  advocating  an  immoderate  resort  to  arms.  Of 
gunboats  there  were  enough  ;  but  their  fitness  for  the 
object  for  which  they  were  designed,  was  already 
more  than  doubted.  The  quotas  of  militia  detached, 
under  the  act  of  March,  1808,  had  been  discharged 
immediately  after  the  arrangement  had  been  entered 
into  with  Mr.  Erskine.  Some  progress  had  been  made 
in  raising  and  organizing  the  additional  military  force 
provided  for  by  the  act  of  April,  1808  ;  but  the  offi 
cers  of  our  little  army  were  little  practiced  in  "war's 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  135 

vast  art,"  and  the  men,  though  brave  and  patriotic,  in 
discipline  were  far  behind  the  trainbearers  against 
whom  they  were  to  be  opposed.  Four  additional 
frigates  had  been  fitted  for  actual  service,  in  pursu 
ance  of  a  law  passed  the  session  of  1808—9  ;  yet  what 
were  these,  in  comparison  with  the  oaken  bulwarks 
of  the  proud  mistress  of  the  seas  ! 

The  geographical  position  of  our  country,  also,  with 
regard  to  one  of  the  great  powers  against  whom  she 
had  so  much  cause  for  complaint,  was  peculiar.  On 
the  one  side  were  the  Canadas,  the  Colonial  depen 
dencies  and  possessions  of  England,  where  her  troops 
were  stationed  and  her  munitions  of  war  collected, 
inhabited  by  a  people,  one  moiety  of  whom  were  firm 
in  their  loyalty,  and  the  other  moiety,  though  disposed 
to  be  friendly  to  us,  prepared  to  manifest  their  predi- 
lictions  only  by  remaining  neutral.  On  the  northwest 
and  southwest,  were  hordes  of  ruthless  savages,  re 
ceiving  aid  and  encouragement,  if  not  direct  assistance, 
from  British  Agents  and  Emissaries.  And  on  the 
south  was  Florida,  belonging  to  and  occupied  by  the 
troops  of  Spain  ;  who,  inimical  towards  the  United 
States  on  account  of  the  purchase  of  Lousiana,  and 
in  close  alliance  with  Great  Britain,  claimed,  and  had 
taken  possession  of  a  large  tract  on  our  southern  bor 
ders,'  between  the  Perdido  and  the  Mississippi,  upon 
the  pretence  that  it  was  not  included  in  the  treaty  of 
San  Ildefonso. 

While  the  country  was  in  a  state  of  ferment  and 
agitation,  Mr.  Jackson,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Erskine, 


13(5  MADISON  8    ADMINISTRATION. 

arrived  at  Washington.  He  was  instructed  to  state 
the  reasons  which  had  influenced  his  government  in 
disavowing  the  acts  of  its  former  representative  ;  but, 
as  it  appeared  at  the  outset,  he  had  no  authority  to 
make  any  proposals  with  respect  to  the  orders  in 
council ;  and  in  regard  to  the  attack  on  the  Chesa 
peake,  the  only  proposition  he  made,  was  founded  on 
the  inadmissible  presumption,  that  the  first  step  to 
wards  an  adjustment  was  due  from  the  United  States, 
and,  while  omitting  all  reference  to  the  officer  who 
had  committed  this  high  handed  act  of  aggression, 
still  asserted  the  odious  doctrine  of  impressment.  The 
new  envoy  was  either  unable,  or  unwilling,  to  imitate 
the  mild  and  conciliatory  conduct  of  his  predecessor, 
and,  in  his  correspondence  with  the  American  Secre 
tary,  intimated  that  the  President  was  aware  that  Mr. 
Erskine  had  exceeded  his  powers,  when  the  arrange 
ment  was  entered  into  with  him.  To  such  a  charge, 
or  rather  insinuation,  for  its  author  had  not  the  man 
liness  to  make  it  directly  and  without  qualification, 
there  could  be  but  one  answer.  The  minister  was 
allowed  to  hold  no  further  communication  with  the 
government  to  which  he  was  accredited,  and  the 
American  minister  at  London  was  directed  to  announce 
the  fact  to  the  English  Monarch,  and  acquaint  him 
with  the  reasons  which  had  led  to  this  step,  at  the 
same  time  stating  that  any  communications  would  be 
readily  received  if  made  through  another  channel. 

Our  relations  with  Great  Britain  had  just  assumed 
this  new  phase,  when  Congress  again  assembled,  at  its 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  137 

regular  session,  on  the  27th  of  November.  The  mem 
bers  were  informed  by  the  President,  in  his  annual 
message,  of  what  had  transpired  during  the  recess  :  he 
also  announced,  that  the  fortifications  on  the  maritime 
frontier  were  fast  being  completed  ;  that  a  supply  of 
small  arms  sufficient  for  the  public  exigency  would 
soon  be  provided  ;  and  that  the  vessels-of-war  had 
been  fully  equipped,  as  directed  by  the  act  of  Con 
gress.  He  likewise  recommended  such  an  organiza 
tion  of  the  militia  as  would  be  "best  adapted  to  event 
ual  situations  for  which  the  United  States  ought  to 
be  prepared."  In  regard  to  the  finances,  he  said,  that 
although  the  current  receipts,  and  the  surplus  pre 
viously  accumulated  in  the  treasury,  had  enabled  them 
to  go  through  the  past  year  without  recurring  to  a 
loan,  a  deficiency  for  the  ensuing  year  was  to  be  ap 
prehended,  from  the  insecure  condition  of  American 
commerce,  and  the  consequent  diminution  of  the  pub- 
lie  revenue. 

Shortly  after  the  commencement  of  the  session,  a 
joint  resolution  was  adopted  approving  of  the  course 
of  the  Executive  in  regard  to  the  British  minister,  and 
declaring  the  willingness  of  Congress  to  call  out  the 
whole  force  of  the  nation,  should  it  become  necessary, 
to  repel  insults  of  so  gross  a  character,  and  to  assert 
and  maintain  the  rights,  honor,  and  interests  of  the 
United  States.  No  action,  in  furtherance  of  the  spirit 
of  this  resolution,  was  required,  as,  upon  the  repre 
sentations  of  Mr.  Pinkney,  the  American  Plenipoten 
tiary  at  the  British  court,  Mr.  Jackson  was  immedi- 


138 

ately  recalled,  although  he  was  neither  censured,  nor 
was  any  apology  made  for  his  conduct. 

Congress  remained  in  session  until  the   1st  of  May, 

1810.  During  this  period,  but  few   acts  of  general 
importance  were  passed.     The  law  authorizing  a  de 
tachment   of  one    hundred   thousand   men    from    the 
militia  expired  by  its   own   limitation,  on   the   30th  of 
March,  but  was  continued  in  force  by  another  act. 
Acts  were  likewise  passed  at  this  session,  providing 
for  taking  the  decennial  census,  and  for   the   creation 
of  a  loan  for  the  payment  of  the  public  debt.     In  re 
gard  to  our  foreign  relations,  the   legislation  of  Con 
gress  was  characterized  by  the  same  spirit  of  forbear 
ance  which  had  hitherto  governed  their  deliberations. 
On  the  1st  of  May,  an  act  was  passed,  known  as  the 
non-importation  act,  revoking  the   restrictive   system, 
but  excluding  British  and  French  armed  vessels  from 
the  waters  of  the  United  States, — and  providing  fur 
ther,  that  if  either  Great   Britain  or  France   should 
revoke  or  modify  her  edicts,  before  the  3d  of  March, 

1811,  and  the  other  nation  should  refuse  or  neglect  to 
do  the  same,  the   non-importation  law  should,  at  the 
expiration   of  three   months,   be   revived  against   the 
party  so  offending.     This  was  designed  to  be  the  ulti- 

*  matum  of  the  American  government ;  and  a  declara 
tion  of  war  against  whichsoever  of  the  two  nations 
failed  to  comply  with  its  terms,  was  to  be  the  only 
alternative.  Accordingly,  Messrs.  Pinkney  and  Arm 
strong,  the  respective  ministers  at  the  courts  of  Great 
Britain  and  France,  were  instructed  to  urge  the 


MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  139 

speedy  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  orders  and  decrees. 

In  reply  to  the  communication  of  Mr.  Armstrong, 
the  French  minister  for  foreign  affairs  stated,  in  an 
official  note,  that  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees  were 
revoked,  and  would  cease  to  have  effect  after  the  1st 
of  November  ensuing, — upon  the  condition,  however, 
that  the  English  government  should  revoke  their  or 
ders  in  council,  and  renounce  the  new  principles  of 
blockade  which  they  had  sought  to  establish,  or,  in 
default  thereof,  that  the  United  States  should  cause 
their  rights  to  be  respected  by  Great  Britain.  Un 
doubtedly,  the  French  Emperor  would,  then,  have 
preferred  a  war  between  England  and  the  United 
States,  to  a  peaceable  and  amicable  termination  of  the 
dispute  ;  but,  under  existing  circumstances,  and  while 
Great  Britain  continued  to  adhere  to  her  odious  sys 
tem  of  blockades,  no  further  concession  could  have 
been  required  of  him  by  the  American  government. 
The  proposition  made  by  his  minister  fully  complied 
with  the  terms  of  the  act  of  May,  1810,  and  was 
therefore  satisfactory  to  the  Executive. 

On  the  receipt  of  General  Armstrong's  dispatches, 
the  President  issued  a  proclamation  dated  the  2d  of 
November,  communicating  the  gratifying  intelligence 
that  one  of  the  European  belligerants  had  at  length 
yielded  to  our  demands  ;  and  declaring  that  the 
French  decrees  had  been  revoked,  and  that  the  non- 
intercourse  law  would  be  revived  as  against  Great 
Britain,  provided  her  orders  in  council  were  not  re 
pealed  within  three  months  from  that  date. 


140  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Pinkney  labored  to  procure  from 
the  British  ministry  a  revocation  or  modification  of 
their  orders,  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  A  direct  reply 
to  the  able  and  convincing  arguments,  and  the  manly 
expostulations,  of  the  American  envoy,  was  for  a  long 
time  evaded  ;  prevarication  and  sophistry  were,  how 
ever,  of  little  avail  ;  and  when  he  finally  forced  them 
to  take  a  determined  stand,  their  answer,  in  its  tenor 
and  effect,  was,  that  the  United  States  should  either 
persuade  or  compel  France  to  take  the  iniative  in  re 
tracing  the  aggressive  course  which  both  belligerants 
had  pursued,  when,  so  far  as  the  former  was  concern 
ed,  Great  Britain  was  herself  the  first  who  should 
have  made  reparation.  To  such  a  proposition  the 
United  States  could  not  in  justice  or  honor  accede  ; 
and  after  months  spent  in  fruitless  negotiation,  Mr. 
Pinkney  formally  took  leave  of  the  Prince  Regent  on 
the  1st  day  of  March,  1811. 

Previous  to  this  time,  the  subject  of  our  foreign 
relations  had  again  received  the  consideration  of  the 
American  Congress.  That  body  commenced  its  ses 
sion  at  Washington,  on  the  3d  of  December,  1810. 
On  the  5th  instant,  the  message  of  the  President  was 
received.  After  reviewing  the  condition  of  the  pending 
negotiations  with  France  and  Great  Britain,  its  author 
recommended  a  continuance  of  the  defensive  and  pre 
cautionary  arrangements,  and  the  adoption  of  further 
measures  for  the  organization  and  discipline  of  the 
militia.  The  finances  were  represented  to  be  in  a 
flattering  condition ;  there  being  a  balance  remaining 


141 

in  the  treasury,  after  the  discharge  of  all  liabilities, 
and  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  the  public  debt, 
together  with  a  portion  of  the  principal,  of  two  mil 
lions  of  dollars. 

One  more  effort  was  made  for  the  settlement  of  the 
vexed  questions  in  difference  with  England,  by  the  en 
actment  of  a  law,  near  the  close  of  the  session — on 
the  2d  of  March,  1811 — providing  that,  if  Great  Britain 
should  revoke  or  modify  her  edicts,  so  that  they  ceased 
to  violate  the  neutral  commerce  of  the  United  States, 
the  President  should  be  authorized  to  declare  the  same 
by  proclamation,  and,  from  the  date  thereof,  the  pro 
visions  of  the  amended  non-intercourse  law  should  no 
longer  remain  in  force. 

By  the  terms  of  its  charter,  the  legal  existence  of 
the  old  Bank  of  the  United  States  was  to  cease  on 
the  4th  day  of  March,  1811.  At  the  first  session  of 
the  10th  Congress,  memorials  had  been  presented  in 
both  houses  for  a  renewal  of  the  charter.  No  definite 
action  was  had  thereupon  in  the  House  of  Represent 
atives,  but  the  Senate  memorial  was  referred  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  report  upon  the  same 
at  the  ensuing  session  of  Congress.  The  report  of 
Mr.  Gallatin  was  made  on  the  2d  of  March,  1809. 
He  stated  that  the  affairs  of  the  bank  appeared  to 
have  been  wisely  and  skillfully  managed ;  and  that,  in 
his  opinion,  although  there  were  some  weighty  objec 
tions  to  the  continuance  of  the  institution,  the  public 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  renewal  of  the 
charter  would  more  than  counterbalance  them.  He 


142 

also  specified  the  conditions  which,  he  thought,  should 
Be  attached  to  the  renewal.  This  session,  the  special 
session  following,  and  the  first  session  of  the  llth 
Congress,  passed  off,  however,  without  any  final  action 
on  the  subject. 

On  the  18th  of  December,  1810,  a  petition  of  the 
stockholders  of  the  bank,  praying  for  the  renewal  of 
the  charter  of  incorporation,  was  presented  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  referred  to  a  select 
committee,  of  which  Mr.  Burwell,  of  Virginia,  was 
chairman.  The  committee  reported  a  bill  providing 
for  the  renewal,  on  the  4th  of  January,  1811,  which 
was  taken  up  on  the  16th  instant,  when  a  motion  was 
made  by  Mr.  Burwell,  in  committee  of  the  whole,  to 
strike  out  the  first  section.  The  motion  prevailed  by 
a  vote  of  59  to  46  ;  and  on  the  24th  instant,  after  an 
animated  debate,  the  subject  was  indefinitely  post 
poned,  by  a  vote  of  65  to  64.  A  number  of  able 
speeches  were  made  in  the  progress  of  the  discussion; 
the  democratic  speakers,  in  the  main,  treating  the 
subject  as  a  party  one,  and  laying  great  stress  on  the 
arguments  of  Mr.  Madison,  contained  in  his  speech 
delivered  in  1791  against  the  original  act  of  incorpo 
ration.  The  principal  speakers  opposed  to  the  renewal 
of  the  charter  were  William  A.  Burwell,  and  John 
W.  Eppes — the  latter  the  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son — of  Virginia  ;  Peter  B.  Porter,  of  New  York ; 
Adam  Seybert,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  Robert  Wright,  of 
Maryland ;  Nathaniel  Macon,  of  North  Carolina  ;  and 
William  T.  Barry,  and  Joseph  Desha,  of  Kentucky. 


143 

On  the  other  side  were  William  Findley,  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  and  Jonathan  Fisk,  of  New  York ;  Benjamin 
Talmadge,  of  Connecticut ;  Philip  B.  Key,  of  Mary 
land  ;  David  S.  Garland,  of  Virginia ;  and  Samuel 
McKee,  of  Kentucky. 

A  similar  petition  presented  in  the  Senate,  shared  a 
like  fate.  It  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  which 
William  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  was  chairman  ; 
who,  having  fortified  themselves  with  another  report 
from  Mr.  Gallatin  in  favor  of  the  renewal  of  the 
charter,  introduced  a  bill  providing  therefor  on  the 
5th  day  of  February.  A  warm  debate  arose  on  a 
motion  made  by  Mr.  Anderson,  of  Tennessee,  to  strike 
out  the  first  section.  Mr.  Crawford  ably  defended 
the  constitutionality  and  expediency  of  the  measure, 
and  indignantly  repelled  the  charge  of  apostacy  made 
against  him  by  other  democratic  Senators.  He  was 
warmly  supported  by  Richard  Brent,  of  Virginia,  and 
John  Pope,  of  Kentucky,  belonging  to  the  same  party; 
and  by  James  Lloyd  and  Timothy  Pickering,  of 
Massachusetts,  and  John  Taylor,  of  South  Carolina. 
The  ablest  speeches  in  opposition  to  the  re-charter 
were  made  by  William  B.  Giles,  of  Virginia  ;  Henry 
Clay  of  Kentucky  ;  and  Samuel  Smith,  of  Maryland. 
The  question  was  taken  on  the  20th  of  February,  and 
resulted  in  a  tie  vote,  of  17  to  17  ;  Messrs.  Lloyd, 
Pickering,  an.d  Brent,  voting,  in  opposition  to  the 
instructions  of  the  legislatures  of  Massachusetts  and 
Virginia,  in  favor  of  the  bill.  The  Senate  being  thus 
equally  divided,  the  Vice  President,  George  Clinton, 


144  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

gave  the  casting  vote  for  striking  out  the  first  section 
of  the  bill. 

Great  efforts  had  been  made  by  the  friends  and 
agents  of  the  bank  to  procure  a  renewal  of  the  char 
ter,  and  after  the  final  rejection  of  the  bill,  propositions 
were  introduced  into  both  houses  of  Congress,  extend 
ing  the  provisions  of  the  existing  charter,  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  it  to  close  up  its  affairs.  Mr. 
Clay,  as  the  chairman  of  the  select  committee  in  the 
Senate,  to  whom  the  proposition  was  referred,  and 
Mr.  P.  B.  Porter,  at  the  head  of  a  similar  committee 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  reported  against 
even  this  temporary  renewal  of  the  charter.  It  ex 
pired,  therefore,  by  its  own  limitation,  on  the  4th  of 
March. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  Joel  Barlow,  of  Con 
necticut,  wras  appointed  minister  to  France,  in  place 
of  General  Armstrong,  who  had  been  recalled,  at  his 
own  request,  the  preceding  autumn.  After  the  return 
of  Mr.  Pinkney,  the  United  States  were  represented 
at  the  English  court  by  Jonathan  Russell,  of  Rhode 
Island,  as  charge  d'  affairs. 

A  collision,  which  took  place  on  the  16th  of  May, 
between  two  vessels  of  war,  belonging,  respectively, 
to  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  very  much 
heightened  the  exasperation  of  feeling  manifested  by 
a  great  majority  of  the  American  people,  and  aroused 
their  patriotism  to  the  highest  pitch. — The  frigate 
President,  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Rodg- 
ers,  while  peaceably  cruizing  on  the  American  coast, 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  145 

was  unexpectedly  fired  upon  by  the  British  sloop  of 
war,  Little  Belt.  The  fire  was  instantly  returned 
with  spirit  and  effect.  Thirty  two  men  were  either 
killed,  on  wounded,  or  board  the  sloop,  by  the  Ameri 
can  fire.  Explanations  were  then  made, — the  British 
commander  asserting  that  he  had  labored  under  a 
mistake,  though  it  is  quite  probable  he  designed  to 
perpetrate  a  similar  outrage  with  that  committed  on 
the  Chesapeake, — whereupon,  the  sloop,  having  been 
sufficiently  punished  for  her  temerity,  was  permitted 
to  return  to  her  harbor. 

Several  months  elapsed  after  the  recall  of  Mr. 
Jackson,  before  the  English  government  dispatched  a 
new  minister  to  the  United  States.  Mr.  Foster  was 
sent  in  that  capacity,  in  the  summer  of  1811,  and 
through  him,  in  the  month  of  November  following, 
tardy  reparation  was  at  length  made  for  the  attack  on 
the  Chesapeake. 

In  the  winter  of  1810-11,  great  numbers  of  Indian 
warriors  visited  the  military  posts  in  the  Canadas,  and 
obtained  liberal  supplies  of  arms  and  ammunition.  It 
can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  they  were,  at  this  time, 
prompted,  or  excited  to  hostilities,  by  British  emissa 
ries  and  agents,  as,  early  in  the  spring  they  com 
menced  the  work  of  devastation  and  butchery  on  the 
northwestern  frontier.  An  ineffectual  attempt  at 
pacification  having  been  made,  in  the  summer,  by 
Governor  Harrison,  of  Indiana  territory,  he  marched 
upon  the  towns  of  the  savages  lying  on  the  upper 

waters  of  the  Wabash,  in  October,  with  a  large  force. 
7 


146  MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  November  he  was 
attacked  by  the  enemy,  while  his  men  lay  in  bivouac, 
near  the  junction  of  the  Tippecanoe  and  Wabash  ; 
but  he  succeeded  in  repulsing  them  with  great  loss, 
and  subsequently  destroyed  their  villages,  and  laid 
waste  the  surrounding  district.  This  timely  blow 
intimidated  the  Indians,  and  frustrated  any  ulterior 
plans  they  may  have  had  in  view,  in  anticipation  of  a 
war  with  England. 

The  Congressional  elections  held  in  1810-11,  had 
resulted  favorably  to  the  administration,  although 
there  were  symptoms  of  disaffection  manifested  in 
the  democratic  party  in  some  portions  of  the  Union, 
particularly  in  the  State  of  New  York,  where  the 
name  of  Dewitt  Clinton  was  already  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  Presidency,  by  those  of  his  polit 
ical  friends  who  were  dissatisfied  with  the  conciliatory 
policy  of  Mr.  Madison,  or  who  were  really  opposed 
to  a  war  in  the  then  comparatively  defenceless  state 
of  the  country.  The  12th  Congress  assembled  on  the 
4th  of  November,  in  pursuance  of  an  executive  proc 
lamation.  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky,  was  chosen 
speaker  of  the  House.  This  gentleman  had  now  be 
come  one  of  the  most  prominent  supporters  of  the 
administration  in  Congress  ;  and  he  was  ably  sus 
tained  in  the  body  over  which  he  presided,  by  James 
Fisk,  of  Vermont ;  Peter  B.  Porter  and  Samuel  L. 
Mitchell,  of  New  York  ;  Adam  Seybert,  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  Robert  Wright,  of  Maryland  ;  Hugh  Nelson, 
of  Virginia  ;  Nathaniel  Macon,  of  North  Carolina  ; 


MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  147 

John  C.  Calhoun,  Langdon  Cheves,  and  William 
Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina  ;  William  W.  Bibb,  and 
George  M.  Troup,  of  Georgia ;  Felix  Grundy,  of 
Tennessee  ;  and  William  P.  Duval,  of  Kentucky.  On 
the  opposition  side,  were  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Massa 
chusetts  ;  and  Timothy  Pitkin,  and  Benjamin  Tal- 
madge,  of  Connecticut.  The  federal  leaders  in  the 
Senate  were  James  Lloyd,  of  Massachusetts  ;  and 
James  A.  Bayard,  of  Delaware.  The  most  prominent 
democratic  Senators  were  Samuel  Smith,  of  Mary 
land  ;  William  B.  Giles,  of  Virginia  ;  William  H. 
Crawford,  of  Georgia  ;  George  W.  Campbell,  of 
Tennessee  ;  and  George  M.  Bibb,  of  Kentucky. 

It  was  evident  from  the  tone  of  the  President's 
message,  that  all  hope  of  conciliation  was  nearly 
abandoned.  He  stated  that  the  period  had  arrived 
which  claimed  from  the  legislative  guardians  of  the 
national  rights,  the  amplest  provisions  for  their  main 
tenance,  and  earnestly  invoked  them  to  put  the  coun 
try  "  into  an  armor  and  an  attitude  demanded  by  the 
crisis."  The  finances  were  said  to  be  in  a  favorable 
condition.  The  receipts  into  the  treasury  during  the 
year  had  been  over  thirteen  and  a  half  millions  of 
dollars,  which  had  enabled  the  government  to  meet 
its  current  liabilities,  including  interest  ;  and  to  cancel 
more  than  five  millions  of  dollars  of  the  public  debt. 

On  the  25th  day  of  November,  James  Monroe,  of 
Virginia,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  in  place 
of  Mr.  Smith,  who  had  previously  resigned  ;  and  in 
the  month  of  December,  following,  William  Pinkney, 


148  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

of  Maryland,  late  minister  to  Great  Britain,  was  ap 
pointed  attorney  general,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned 
by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Rodney. 

A  bolder  and  more  defiant  tone  was  now  assumed 
by  the  democratic  members  of  Congress,  particularly 
by  those  from  the  southern  and  western  states.  The 
inactivity  and  indecision  which  had  characterized  the 
policy  of  the  dominant  party  in  former  years  were 
laid  aside  ;  and  warlike  measures  of  the  most  decided 
stamp  were  promptly  adopted.  Bills  were  passed  at 
this  session,  providing  for  the  enlistment  of  twenty 
thousand  men  in  the  regular  army,  for  repairing  and 
equipping  the  frigates  in  ordinary  and  building  new 
vessels,  and  authorizing  the  President  to  accept  the 
services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and  to  require 
of  the  executives  of  the  several  states  and  territories 
to  hold  their  respective  quotas  of  one  hundred  thous 
and  men,  fully  organised,  armed  and  equipped,  in  read 
iness  to  march  at  a  moment's  warning.  Funds  were 
also  appropriated  to  enable  the  Executive  to  carry 
these  provisions  into  effect. 

It  was  with  some  reluctance,  in  view  of  the  exposed 
condition  of  the  country,  and  the  lack  of  means  for 
carrying  on  a  war  writh  one  of  the  first  powers  in  the 
world,  that  Mr  Madison  acquiesced  in  these  measures 
though  he  saw  their  necessity.  While  he  hesitated,  he 
was  waited  upon  by  several  of  the  leading  democratic 
members,  who  assured  him  that  the  popular  feeling  was 
setting  strongly  in  favour  of  a  war  ;  that  the  friends 
of  Mr  Clinton  were  taking  advantage  of  his  timidity ; 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  149 

and  that  if  he  desired  to  sustain  himself,  it  was  ne 
cessary  for  him  to  take  a  bold  and  determined  stand. 
Mr.  Madison  was  by  no  means  averse  to  the  war, 
though  a  man  of  peace  in  principle  and  in  practice  ; 
but  he  feared  that  Congress  would  either  be  unable  or 
unwilling  to  provide  him  with  the  necessary  supplies 
of  money  and  men,  to  carry  it  on  to  a  successful  issue. 
Furthermore,  his  cabinet  officers,  though  not  undis 
tinguished  for  talent,  were  hardly  fitted  for  the  emer 
gency  ;  and  some  diversity  of  opinion  likewise  existed 
among  them.  Mr.  Gallatin  was  openly  and  avowedly 
opposed  to  a  war,  and  Mr.  Pinkney  believed  it  pre 
mature  to  hurry  on  hostilities  while  so  little  prepara 
tion  had  been  made.  Mr.  Granger  was  not  opposed 
to  a  war,  but  was  unfriendly  to  Mr.  Madison,  and 
secretly  operating,  in  connection  with  Obadiah  Ger 
man,  one  of  the  democratic  senators  from  New  York, 
for  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Clinton  to  the  Presidency. 
Mr.  Monroe  was  the  only  military  man  in  the  cabinet, 
and  his  experience  had  been  limited.  The  secretaries 
of  war  and  the  navy  were  estimable  men,  but  not  at 
all  calculated  for  directing  the  operations  of  armies 
and  fleets  in  a  state  of  war.  As  for  the  President 
himself,  he  did  not  profess  to  have  any  acquaintance 
with  military  matters. 

On  the  9th  of  March,  1812,  the  President  sent  a 
special  message  communicating  certain  documents, 
being  the  revelations  of  one  John  Henry,  from  which 
it  appeared  that  he  had  been  selected  as  a  confidential 
agent,  by  the  governor  of  Canada,  to  visit  the  New 


150 

England  States,  and  sound  the  disaffected  federal  pol 
iticians  in  that  quarter,  in  regard  to  forming  a  con 
nection  with  Great  Britain.  The  sum  of  fifty  thous 
and  dollars  was  paid  out  of  the  secret  service  fund 
for  these  disclosures,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  a  very  desirable  bargain.  The  British  minister 
at  Washington  solemnly  disclaimed  any  knowledge  on 
his  part  touching  the  matter,  though,  even  admitting 
this,  it  was  never  shown  that  the  Canadian  governor 
did  not  dispatch  Henry  to  the  United  States  for  the 
purpose  represented.  Still,  nothing  appeared  to  cast 
suspicion  on  any  one,  even  the  most  bitter  federalists 
of  the  Eastern  States,  of  having  had  any  treasonable 
intercourse  or  understanding  with  him. 

In  the  meantime,  the  French  Emperor,  after  much 
delay  and  prevarication, — in  which  he  showed  a  spirit, 
and  manifested  feelings,  towards  his  "  American  pre 
fect,"  as  the  federalists  termed  Mr.  Madison,  far  from 
being  of  that  friendly  character  which  they  would 
have  had  the  public  infer, — had  finally,  on  the  28th 
of  April,  1811,  definitely  revoked  the  Berlin  and 
Milan  decrees,  to  date  from  November  1st,  1810, 
though  it  was  intimated  that  no  indemnification  would 
be  made  for  spoliations  committed  subsequent  to  that 
date.  A  powerful  effort  had  also  been  made  in  the 
British  parliament,  by  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  and 
Mr.  Brougham,  at  the  instigation  of  the  merchants 
and  manufacturers  of  England,  whose  business  was 
rapidly  declining,  to  procure  the  repeal  of  the  orders 
in  council.  The  movement  was  strongly  resisted  by 


151 

the  ministers,  who  declared,  with  the  utmost  arrogance 
and  assurance,  that  England  could  not  deviate  from 
her  course,  nor  listen  to  the  petty  grievances  of  neu 
tral  nations,  when  her  rights  and  interests  were  at 
stake.  Previous  to  this  time,  Mr.  Russell,  the  Amer 
ican  charge  d'  affairs,  had  informed  Mr.  Monroe,  in  a 
dispatch  dated  the  14th  of  February,  1812,  that  he 
could  discover  no  evidence  of  an  intention,  on  the  part 
of  the  British  government,  to  repeal  their  orders  ; 
whereupon,  the  President,  in  a  special  confidential 
message,  on  the  1st  of  April,  recommended  an  Em 
bargo  on  all  vessels  then  in  port,  and  thereafter  arriv 
ing,  for  the  period  of  sixty  days  ;  and  on  the  4th  in 
stant,  Congress  pessed  a  law  in  conformity  with  such 
recommendation.  In  a  subsequent  dispatch,  dated  the 
4th  of  March,  1812,  communicating  the  substance  of 
the  discussions  in  parliament,  Mr.  Russell  remarked, 
at  its  close,  "  I  no  longer  entertain  a  hope  that  we  can 
honorably  avoid  war." 

By  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  on  the  8th  day  of 
April,  the  territory  of  Lousiana  was  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  a  state,  or  rather  the  southern  portion  of  it, 
and  the  name  of  Missouri  territory  was  given  to  the 
remaining  portion. 

George  Clinton,  the  venerable  Vice  President,  for 
so  many  years  the  leader  of  the  republican  party  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  died  at  Washington,  on  the 
20th  of  April,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  His  place 
as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate  had  been  previously 


152  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

filled   by   the   election   of  William   H.   Crawford  as 
president  pro.  tern. 

Mr.  Russell's  prophetic  anticipation  proved  to  be 
correct.  On  the  30th  of  May,  1812,  Mr.  Foster 
addressed  a  lengthy  letter  to  Mr.  Monroe,  reviewing 
the  whole  controversy  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  ;  defending  the  course  of  the  former  in 
regard  to  the  blockades  and  orders  in  council ;  and 
closing  with  the  explicit  assurance,  that  the  same 
course  would  be  steadily  pursued,  while  France  con 
tinued  to  maintain  and  act  upon  the  principles  she  had 
done.  This  was  appropriately  regarded  as  the  final 
answer  of  Great  Britain  to  the  urgent  and  often  re 
peated  remonstrances  of  the  American  government  : — 
she  would  not  be  content  with  the  repeal  of  the  French 
decrees,  so  far  as  they  affected  the  United  States,  but 
her  measures  should  not  be  relinquished,  till  such  re 
peal  took  effect  as  to  all  neutral  nations.  The  decree 
of  the  French  Emperor,  of  the  28th  of  April,  1811, 
before  alluded  to,  was  not  known  to  be  in  existence, 
at  this  time,  by  the  parties  to  the  correspondence,  as 
it  had  long  been  kept  secret,  though  it  had  been  exhib 
ited  to  Mr.  Barlow,  the  American  minister  at  the 
French  court,  a  few  days  previous.  Had  this  decree 
been  known,  however,  it  is  not  probable  that  the  in 
structions  of  Lord  Castlereah,  under  which  Mr.  Fos 
ter  acted,  would  have  been  different,  inasmuch  as  the 
policy  of  the  existing  ministry  was  not  eventually 
changed,  till  a  revolution  was  threatened  in  the  man 
ufacturing  districts  of  England. 


153 

It  now  became  necessary  to  adopt  some  decisive 
measures  looking  to  the  maintenance  of  our  rights  as 
a  free  people,  and  the  vindication  of  the  national 
honor.  Great  Britain  had,  after  years  of  delay  and 
negotiation,  emphatically  and  authoritively  announced, 
that  she  would  not  abandon  her  position  :  if  France 
could  be  injured,  in  the  least,  by  her  orders  and  block 
ades,  she  cared  not  though  that  injury  was  aggra 
vated,  in  a  tenfold  degree,  to  other,  and  neutral 
nations. 

President  Madison  did  not  hesitate  at  this  critical 
junction.  On  the  1st  day  of  June,  he  transmitted  a 
confidential  message  to  Congress,  in  which,  though 
he  did  not  withhold  just  and  deserved  censure  from 
France,  he  commented,  in  strong  and  eloquent  lan 
guage,  upon  the  long  series  of  outrages  and  insults 
committed  by  the  government  of  Great  Britain,  or 
under  its  auspices.  In  concluding  his  able  review  of 
the  origin,  progress,  and  development,  of  this  system 
of  aggressions,  he  said  : 

"Such  is  the  spectacle  of  injuries  and  indignities 
which  have  been  heaped  on  our  country  ;  and  such 
the  crisis  which  its  unexampled  forbearance  and  con 
ciliatory  efforts  have  not  been  able  to  avert.  It  might 
at  least  have  been  expected  that  an  enlightened  na 
tion,  if  less  urged  by  moral  obligations  or  invited  by 
friendly  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
would  have  found,  in  its  true  interest  alone,  a  sufficient 
motive  to  respect  their  rights  and  their  tranquility  on 

the  high  seas  ;  that  an  enlarged  policy  would  have 

7* 


154  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

favored  that  free  and  general  circulation  of  commerce 
in  which  the  British  nation  is  at  all  times  interested, 
and  which  in  times  of  war  is  the  best  alleviation  of  its 
calamities  to  herself,  as  well  as  to  other  belligerents  ; 
and  more  especially,  that  the  British  cabinet  would 
not,  for  the  sake  of  a  precarious  and  surreptitious  in 
tercourse  with  hostile  markets,  have  persevered  in  a 
course  of  measures  which  necessarily  put  at  hazard 
the  invaluable  market  of  a  great  and  growing  coun 
try,  disposed  to  cultivate  the  mutual  advantages  of  an 
active  commerce. 

"  Other  counsels  have  prevailed.  Our  moderation 
and  conciliation  have  had  no  other  effect  than  to  en 
courage  perseverance  and  to  enlarge  pretensions.  We 
behold  our  seafaring  citizens  still  the  daily  victims  of 
lawless  violence,  committed  on  the  great  and  common 
highway  of  nations,  even  within  sight  of  the  country 
which  owes  them  protection.  We  behold  our  vessels, 
freighted  with  the  products  of  our  soil  and  industry, 
or  returning  with  the  honest  proceeds  of  them,  wrest 
ed  from  their  lawful  destinations,  confiscated  by  prize 
courts,  no  longer  the  organs  of  public  law,  but  the 
instruments  of  arbitrary  edicts,  and  their  unfortunate 
crews  dispersed  and  lost,  or  forced  or  inveigled  in 
British  ports  into  British  fleets,  while  arguments  are 
employed  in  support  of  these  aggressions,  which  have 
no  foundation  but  in  a  principle  equally  supporting  a 
claim  to  regulate  our  external  commerce  in  all  cases 
whatsoever. 

"  We  behold,  in  fine,  on   the  side  of  Great  Britain, 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  155 

a  state  of  war  against  the  United  States  ;  and  on  the 
side  of  the  United  States,  a  state  of  peace  toward 
Great  Britain. 

"  Whether  the  United  States  shall  continue  passive 
under  these  progressive  usurpations  and  accumulating 
wrongs,  or,  opposing  force  to  force,  in  defence  of  their 
national  rights,  shall  commit  a  just  cause  into  the 
hands  of  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  events,  avoiding 
all  connections  which  might  entangle  it  in  the  contests 
or  views  of  other  powers,  and  preserving  a  constant 
readiness  to  concur  in  an  honorable  reestablishment 
of  peace  and  friendship,  is  a  solemn  question,  which 
the  constitution  wisely  confides  to  the  legislative  de 
partment  of  the  government.  In  recommending  it  to 
their  early  deliberations,  I  am  happy  in  the  assurance 
that  the  decision  will  be  worthy  the  enlightened  and 
patriotic  councils  of  a  virtuous,  free,  and  a  powerful 
nation." 

The  message  was  immediately  referred,  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  to  the  committee  on  foreign 
relations,  who  reported,  on  the  3rd  day  of  June,  a 
manifesto,  setting  forth  the  reasons  which  required,  in 
their  opinion,  an  immediate  appeal  to  arms.  These 
were  : — the  impressment  of  American  seamen  ;  the 
British  doctrine  and  system  of  blockade  ;  and  the 
continuance  of  the  orders  in  council.  The  delibera 
tions  of  Congress  on  this  important  question  were 
conducted  with  closed  doors.  At  first  it  was  doubt 
ful,  whether  a  majority  of  the  members  could  be  in 
duced  to  vote  for  a  declaration  of  war.  A  bill  drawn 


156 

up  for  that  purpose,  by  Mr.  Pinkney,  the  attorney 
general — in  brief,  terse,  and  sententious  language — 
was  reported,  however,  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  from  the 
committee  on  foreign  relations.  The  act  contained 
but  a  single  section,  and,  exclusive  of  its  title,  was  in 
these  words  : 

"  Be  it  enacted,  <$*c.,  That  war  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby  declared  to  exist  between  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  dependencies 
thereof,  and  the  United  States  of  America  and  their 
territories  ;  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  is 
hereby  authorized  to  use  the  whole  land  and  naval 
force  of  the  United  States  to  carry  the  same  into 
effect,  and  to  issue  to  private  armed  vessels  of  the 
United  States  commissions,  or  letters  of  marque  and 
general  reprisal,  in  such  form  as  he  shall  think  proper, 
and  under  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  against  the 
government  of  the  said  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  subjects  thereof." 

Notwithstanding  the  federal  members  opposed  the 
passage  of  the  bill,  it  was  rapidly  pushed  through  the 
forms  of  legislation,  and,  by  a  final  vote  of*  79  to  49, 
sent  to  the  Senate  for  concurrence.  It  here  encoun 
tered  a  still  more  violent  opposition.  The  democratic 
friends  of  Dewitt  Clinton  united  with  the  federalists 
in  the  attempt  to  defeat  the  bill ;  and  Mr.  German, 
one  of  the  New  York  senators,  made  a  speech  as  well 
as  voted  against  it.  It  finally  passed,  however,  by  a 
vote  of  19  to  13,  on  the  17th  of  July,  and,  on  the  18th 
instant  was  signed  and  approved  by  the  President. 


MADISON'S    ADMINISTRATION.  157 

On  the  following  day  he  issued  his  proclamation,  an 
nouncing  the  existance  of  war  and  the  causes  which 
had  led  to  it,  as  set  forth  in  the  manifesto  of  the  com 
mittee  on  foreign  relations,  and  calling  upon  the 
people  of  the  United  States  to  sustain  the  public  au 
thorities  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  a  speedy,  a  just,  and 
an  honorable  peace. 

"  The  members  from  New  Hampshire,  most  of 
those  from  Massachusetts,  then  including  Maine,  those 
of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  and 
Delaware,  with  several  from  New  York,  some  from 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  one  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  three  from  Maryland  opposed  the  war.  The 
members  from  Vermont,  some  from  New  York,  all 
but  one  from  Pennsylvania,  most  from  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  North  Carolina,  all  from  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  and  Louisiana, 
supported  it."*  Mr.  Clinton's  friends,  numbering 
among  them  a  majority  of  the  democratie  delegation 
from  New  York,  for  the  most  part  insisted  that  they 
were  not  opposed  to  the  war,  but  they  deemed  the 
declaration  at  this  time  premature.  Some  of  them 
afterwards  joined  what  was  called  the  peace  party, 
composed  of  federalists  and  disaffected  democrats  ; 
but  most  of  the  seceders  eventually  returned  to  their 
"  first  love." 

Pursuant  to  a  custom  which  many  now  began  to 
condemn,  a  caucus  of  eighty-two  republican  members 

*  Ingersoll's  History  of  the  war. 


158 

of  Congress  had  been  held  on  the  18th  day  of  May, 
at  which  Mr.  Madison  was  unanimously  nominated 
for  re-election.  John  Langdon,  of  New  Hampshire, 
was  put  in  nomination  for  the  Vice  Presidency,  but 
he  declined  on  account  of  his  advanced  age  ;  where 
upon,  the  nomination  was  conferred  on  Elbridge 
Gerry,  at  a  subsequent  meeting  held  on  the  8th  of 
June.  Dewitt  Clinton  was  nominated  as  an  opposing 
candidate  for  the  Presidency,  on  the  29th  of  May, 
by  a  majority  of  the  republican  members  of  the  New 
York  legislature,  but  against  the  urgent  remonstrances 
of  the  minority.  The  federalists  took  no  steps  to 
wards  bringing  forward  a  candidate,  till  the  month  of 
September,  when  they  held  a  convention  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  at  which  they  resolved  to  support  Mr. 
Clinton,  in  order,  as  they  affirmed,  to  defeat  Mr. 
Madison.  Jared  Ingersoll,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  se 
lected  as  their  candidate  for  Vice  President. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  an  act  was  passed  by  Congress 
respecting  letters  of  marque,  prizes,  and  prize  goods. 
Among  the  other  important  acts  passed  at  this  session, 
were  those  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  goods, 
wares,  or  merchandize,  during  the  continuance  of 
the  embargo  ;  authorizing  the  establishment  of  a  gen 
eral  land  office  ;  providing  for  the  survey  of  the  bounty 
lands  ;  authorizing  the  issue  of  treasury  notes  to  the 
amount  of  five  millions  of  dollars  ;  imposing  one  hun 
dred  per  cent,  additional  duties  on  imports  ;  and  pro 
viding  for  the  apportionment  of  representatives  in 
accordance  with  the  census  of  1810.  The  session 


159 

terminated  on  the  6th  of  July ;  Congress  having 
previously  adopted  a  resolution  requesting  the  Presi 
dent  to  recommend  a  day  of  public  humiliation  and 
prayer,  to  be  observed  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  in  offering  up  supplications  to  Almighty  God 
for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  states,  his  blessing 
on  their  arms,  and  the  speedy  restoration  of  peace. 
The  third  Thursday  in  August  was  accordingly  selected 
by  the  Executive,  and  it  was  generally  observed. 

Party  spirit  and  party  feeling  ran  high  throughout 
the  Union,  and  the  declaration  of  war  was  very  dif 
ferently  received  in  different  sections  of  the  Union. 
In  the  city  of  Boston,  in  full  view  of  the  old  Temple  of 
Liberty,  the  flags  of  the  shipping  were  hoisted  at  half 
mast,  in  token  of  mourning  ;  while  at  Baltimore,  a 
federal  editor  was  mobbed,  his  office  in  great  part  de 
molished,  one  of  his  friends  killed,  and  he,  with  others, 
including  Henry  Lee,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the 
revolution,  but  a  most  bitter  and  vindictive  federal 
partisan,  seriously  injured,  for  having  the  hardihood 
to  utter  his  sentiments  through  the  columns  of  his 
paper.  In  the  eastern  states  the  opposition  to  the 
war  was  marked  and  virulent.  Every  one  who  dared 
to  speak  in  defence  of  the  administration,  was  de 
nounced  in  the  most  unmeasured  terms,  and  curses 
and  anathemas  were  liberally  hurled  from  the  pulpit  on 
the  heads  of  all  those  who  aided,  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  in  carrying  on  the  war.  In  the  middle  and 
southern  states,  public  opinion  was  divided,  though  a 
large  majority  aporoved  the  measures  adopted  by 


160  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


Congres^.'JBatt.m-tlie  west  there  was  only  one  senti 
ment : — love  of  country  sparkled  in  every  eye,  and 
animated  every  heart.  The  importing  merchants, 
the  lawyers  in  the  principal  cities,  some  planters,  and 
the  clergy  for  the  most  part,  were  numbered  in  the 
ranks  of  the  opposition  ;  and  the  war  found  its  most 
ardent  and  enthusiastic  advoates,  among  the  farmers 
and  planters,  the  mechanics,  the  mariners,  and  the 
laboring'  men. 

Most  of  the  prominent  officers  of  the  revolution 
were  either  dead  or  superannuated,  and  in  making  his 
selections  for  the  leaders  of  the  forces  about  to  take 
the  field,  Mr.  Madison  naturally  preferred,  as  he 
might  have  felt  himself  compelled  to  do,  those  who 
had  occupied  subordinate  positions  in  the  war  of  inde 
pendence.  He  at  first  designed  to  place  Henry  Clay 
at  the  head  of  the  army.  That  gentleman  was  not  a 
soldier  by  profession  or  education,  indeed  knew  but 
little  of  the  military  art ;  yet  he  had  genius,  talents, 
force,  decision,  energy.  These  were  needed  at  that 
crisis,  and  had  the  President  followed  his  own  coun 
sel,  in  all  probability,  the  disasters  of  1812  and  1813 
would  not  have  been  witnessed.  Mr.  Gallatin,  though 
not  very  friendly  to  Mr.  Clay,  concurred,  with  the 
President  in  opinion  ;  but  others  thought,  or  affected 
to  think,  that  the  eloquent  Kentuckiari  could  not  be 
spared  from  the  House  of  Representatives.  Mr.  Mad 
ison  allowed  himself  to  be  overruled,  and  appointed 
Henry  Dearborn,  a  major  in  the  revolution,  and  sec 
retary  of  war  during  the  administration  of  Jefferson, 


MADISON'S   AD 

the  senior  major  general  of 
were  Major  Generals  James  Wilkinson,  of  Maryland, 
and  Wade  Hampton,  of  South  Carolina,  then  belong 
ing  to  the  regular  army  ;  and  Major  Generals  William 
Hull,  also  governor  of  Michigan  territory,  and  Thomas 
Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  both  appointed  by  Pres 
ident  Madison.  Mr.  Pinckney  was  a  prominent  fed 
eralist,  but  a  man  of  tried  and  sterling  patriotism,  who 
never  allowed  the  ties  of  party  to  move  him  from  the 
faithful  discharge  of  his  duty  to  his  country. 

In  anticipation  of  hostilities,  a  large  additional  force 
had  been  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Hull, 
in  order  that  he  might  be  enabled,  at  the  very  outset, 
to  cut  off  the  communication  between  the  North  wes 
tern  Indians  and  the  British  posts  in  the  Canadas. 
This  design  was  prevented,  in  part,  by  the  remissness 
of  the  wrar  department  or  its  messengers,  in  convey 
ing  the  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  war  to  the 
frontier  posts  ; — the  first  intimation  of  the  fact  receiv 
ed  by  the  commanding  officer  at  Mackinaw^,  being  a 
summons  to  surrender  to  a  large  British  force  that 
suddenly  appeared  before  the  fort  on  the  4th  of  Au 
gust,  with  which  he  was  obliged  to  comply  ;  and  it 
was  completely  frustrated  by  the  cowardice,  or,  at 
least,  the  indecision,  of  General  Hull,  who  invaded 
Canada  in  July,  but  subsequently  retired  to  Detroit, 
and,  on  the  17th  of  August,  surrendered  the  post,  with 
his  whole  force,  to  an  inferior  British  army  command 
ed  by  General  Brock. 

Immediately  after  the  declaration  of  war,  a  project 


162 

was  laid  before  the  war  department  for  the  capture 
of  Halifax,  the  principal  naval  depot  of  the  enemy, 
and,  indeed,  the  only  one  of  any  importance,  on  this 
side  the  Atlantic.  Mr.  Madison,  ignorant  as  he  was 
of  military  matters,  relied,  perhaps  too  much,  on  his 
secretary,  Doctor  Eustis,  who,  though  possessing 
many  estimable  qualities,  lacked  the  spirit  and  energy 
necessary  at  such  a  crisis.  The  project  was  not 
deemed  feasible,  though  this  was  certainly  a  gross  er 
ror,  inasmuch  as  the  declaration  took  the  English  gov 
ernment,  and  its  representatives  and  officers  every 
where,  with  surprise  ;  and  a  mistake,  equally  preju 
dicial  in  its  results,  was  committed  by  General  Dear 
born,  then  commanding  on  the  northern  frontier,  in 
consenting  to  an  armistice  with  Sir  George  Prevost, 
governor  general  of  Canada,  suspending  all  military 
operations  till  the  President's  pleasure  should  be  ascer 
tained.  This  armistice  was  entered  into  in  July,  and, 
by  its  terms,  the  force  under  General  Hull,  was 
expressly  excepted.  President  Madison  promptly 
refused  to  confirm  the  arrangement  ;  but  it  was  too 
late  to  avert  the  fatal  consequences.  The  conclusion 
of  the  armistice  left  Sir  George  Prevost  at  liberty  to 
dispatch  a  large  force  to  Maiden  and  its  vicinity, 
which  movement  was  speedily  followed,  as  he  may 
have  foreseen,  by  the  surrender  of  Hull. 

Disasters  like  these  could  not  be  corrected,  yet 
they  were  compensated,  in  some  measure,  by  the 
brillant  achievements  of  our  gallant  navy.  On  the 
18th  of  August,  the  Constitution,  Captain  Hull, 


163 

captured  the  British  frigate  Guerriere,  and  on  the 
17th  of  October,  the  brig  Frolic  surrendered  to  the 
American  sloop-of-war  Wasp,  commanded  by  Captain 
Jones.  These  successes  were  followed  by  the  sur 
render  of  the  British  frigate  Macedonian  to  the  United 
States,  Captain  Decatur,  on  the  25th  of  October,  and 
the  capture  and  destruction  of  the  Java,  off  San  Sal 
vador  by  the  Constitution,  then  under  the  command 
of  Commodore  Bainbridge,  on  the  30th  of  December. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  1812,  a  considerable  force, 
of  regulars  and  volunteers,  was  assembled  on  the  Ni 
agara  frontier,  under  General  Van  Rennselaer,  of  the 
New  York  militia ;  and  in  the  month  of  October, 
another  unsuccessful  attempt  at  the  invasion  of  Cana 
da  was  made  in  this  quarter,  with  the  loss  of  over  one 
thousand  men,  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  When 
the  year  closed,  therefore,  the  reverses  sustained  by 
the  army  contrasted  sadly  with  the  glorious  victories 
achieved  by  our  little  navy.  During  the  two  prece 
ding  administrations,  the  democrats,  as  a  party,  had 
opposed  the  augmentation  of  the  naval  establishment; 
but  now  that  its  practical  utility  and  importance  had 
been  so  signally  manifested,  they  cordially  united  with 
the  federalists  in  its  laudation,  and  gave  their  support 
to  the  various  propositions  for  its  increase  and  sup 
port. 

Meanwhile,  the  efforts  of  the  merchants  and  manu-     J 
facturers  of  England,  to  procure  a  repeal  of  the  or 
ders  in  council,  had  been  attended  with  success.     The. 
repeal  was  made  on   the  23d  day  of   June ;  but  the 


164 

declaration  of  war  had  already  been  promulgated  to 
the  world;  and  although  this  step,  if  taken  but  one  month 
previous,  would  undoubtedly  have  prevented  a  collis 
ion,  there  were  other  questions,  which,  though  of  mi 
nor  importance,  now  that  a  resort  to  arms  had  been 
made,  must,  necessarily  be  first  disposed  of,  before 
hostilities  could  cease.  On  the  26th  of  June,  Mr. 
Monroe  informed  the  American  charge,  Mr.  Russell, 
of  the  declaration  of  war  ;  and  at  the  same  time  au 
thorised  him  to  propose  an  armistice  to  the  British 
government,  conditioned,  in  the  event  of  the  repeal  of 
the  orders  in  council,  that  instructions  should  be  issued 
suspending  the  practice  of  impressment  during  its  con 
tinuance  ;  and  on  the  27th  of  July,  Mr.  Russell  was 
further  empowered  to  consent  to  an  informal  under 
standing  on  the  subject.  It  was  also  proposed,  that 
an  act  of  Congress  should  be  passed,  excluding  British 
seamen,  and  natives  of  Great  Britain,  from  American 
vessels,  provided  that  a  similar  step  should  be  taken  by 
the  British  government. 

Both  these  amicable  overtures  were  contemptuous 
ly  rejected  by  the  British  ministry,  whereupon,  Mr. 
Russell  demanded  his  passports,  and  left  England. 
Admiral  Warren,  the  commander  of  the  British  naval 
force  operating  on  the  American  coast,  arrived  at 
Halifax,  however,  in  the  month  of  September;  and, 
on  the  30th  inst.,  he  addressed  a  note  to  the  Secreta 
ry  of  State,  proposing,  by  authority  of  his  govern 
ment,  the  immediate  cessation  of  hostilities,  as  pre 
liminary  to  an  arrangement,  for  the  revocation  of  tho 


165 

laws  interdicting  British  commerce  and  vessels  of  war 
from  entering  the  harbors  and  waters  of  the  United 
States.  He  added,  nevertheless,  that,  if  such  revoca 
tion  was  not  promptly  made,  the  orders  in  council 
would  be  revived  and  rigidly  enforced. 

Mr.  Monroe  replied,  on  the  27th  of  October,  in  a 
most  friendly  tone,  consenting,  without  hesitation  to  a 
provisional  accommodation,  but  with  the  understand 
ing  that  impressment  should  be  suspended.  The  war 
on  the  continent  was  now  growing  more  earnest  and 
exciting,  and  Great  Britain  was  required  to  put  forth 
all  her  exertions  to  maintain  her  pretensions  to  the 
maritime  supremacy  in  the  world.  She  could  not 
have  the  hardihood  to  insist  upon  continuing  the  prac 
tice  of  impressment,  as  a  right  ;  but  she  wanted  sail 
ors  to  man  her  vessels,  and  she  would  take  them. 
While  such  a  disposition  reigned  in  her  councils,  it  ^ 
was  not  surprising  that  this  attempt  at  negotiation, 
like  all  former  ones,  proved  entirely  fruitless. 

The  presidential  contest  was  unusually  animated  in 
the  eastern,  and  in  some  of  the  middle  states  ;  but  in 
the  south  and  west,  only  a  feeble  opposition  was  of 
fered  to  the  administration  electoral  tickets.  Mr. 
Madison  received  128  electoral  votes  and  Mr.  Gerry 
131  ;  Mr.  Clinton  received  89,  including  the  vote  of 
New  York,  where  he  was  supported  by  a  great  por 
tion  of  the  democratic  party,  and  Mr.  Ingersoll,  86. 
The  federalists  gained  a  number  of  members  for  the 
13th  Congress, — being  successful  in  electing  twenty 
out  of  thirty  representatives,  from  New  York,  in 


166 

consequence  of  the  divisions  among  the  democrats  in 
that  State. 

Congress  re-assembled,  for  the  short  session,  on  the 
2d  day  of  November.  The  president  made  no  attempt 
in  his  message  to  conceal  the  disasters  experienced  on 
the  Canadian  frontier.  After  referring  to  these  in 
appropriate  terms,  and  calling  attention  to  the  grati 
fying  results  of  the  naval  warfare,  he  invoked  Con 
gress  to  pass  all  needful  laws,  and  to  make,  with 
promptitude,  the  necessary  appropriations  for  the  sup 
port  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  for  fortifications  and 
works  of  defence,  in  order  that  the  republic  might  be 
prepared,  under  all  circumstances,  to  assert  and  main 
tain  her  rights  and  her  dignity.  He  also  adverted  to 
the  want  of  patriotism  evinced  by  the  respective  gov 
ernors  of  Massachusetts. and  Connecticut,  in  their  re 
fusal  to  furnish  the  required  detachments  of  militia 
for  the  defence  of  the  maritime  frontier.  In  regard 
to  the  finances  he  stated  that  the  receipts  into  the 
treasury,  during  the  year  ending  on  the  30th  of  Sep 
tember  previous,  had  exceeded  sixteen  and  a  half  mil 
lions  of  dollars,  including  the  moneys  received  on  ac 
count  of  loans  authorized  by  Congress. 

The  session  continued  until  the  3d  of  March,  1813, 
when  the  terms  of  members  expired.  Various  laws 
were  enacted  relating  to  the  army  and  navy,  and  pro 
viding  for  the  means  requisite  to  carry  on  the  war. 
Four  ships  of  the  line,  six  frigates,  and  six  sloops  of 
war,  were  authorized  to  be  constructed.  On  the  8th 
of  February  a  law  was  passed,  providing  for  a  loan 


MADISON'S    APMINI8TRATION.  167 

of  sixteen  millions  of  dollars  ;  and  authority  was  sub 
sequently  given  to  issue  five  millions  in  treasury  notes, 
making  altogether,  including  the  loan  of  eleven  mil 
lions  authorized  by  the  act  of  March  14th,  1812,  and 
the  five  millions  of  treasury  notes  issued  by  the  act 
of  the  30th  of  June  in  the  same  year,  the  gross  sum 
of  thirty  seven  millions  of  dollars  borrowed  by  this 
Congress  for  the  prosecution  of  hostilities,  without 
providing  for  the  redemption  of  the  debt,  by  the  im 
position  of  additional  taxes,  as  desired  by  Mr.  Cheves, 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  and 
other  proper  advocates  of  the  war.  The  loan  of  six 
teen  millions  was  promptly  taken,  on  the  most  favora 
ble  terms  :  seven  millions  of  the  sum  were  subscribed 
by  Stephen  Girard  and  David  Parish,  and  two  millions 
by  John  Jacob  Astor,  all  three  of  whom  were  adop 
ted  citizens  ;  and  the  remaining  seven  millions  were 
taken  by  banks  and  individuals,  mostly  in  Philadelphia 
and  New  York.  The  federalists  exerted  themselves, 
for  the  most  part  successfully,  to  prevent  any  portion 
of  the  loan  from  being  taken  in  the  New  England 
States. 

Laws  were  likewise  passed  at  this  session  for  the 
increase  of  the  army,  and  its  more. effective  organiza 
tion  ;  and  for  the  encouragement  of  vaccination, 
generally,  among  the  people,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
ravages  of  small  pox  in  the  army. 

The  olive  branch  of  peace  was  again  tendered  to 
Great  Britain,  by  the  passage  of  an  act  prohibiting  the 
employment  of  any  seamen,  other  than  citizens  of  the 


168 

United  States,  or  native  persons  of  color,  on  board 
the  public  or  private  armed  vessels  of  the  United 
States,  after  the  close  of  the  war. 

Among  the  other  bills  passed  was  one  giving  the 
president  the  power  of  retaliation  for  any  violation  of 
the  usages  of  civilized  warfare  committed  by  British 
officers  or  their  Indian  coadjutors.  A  law  was  also 
enacted  remitting  the  forfeiture  incurred  by  American 
merchants,  who,  during  the  continuance  of  the  non 
importation  act,  had  accumulated  a  large  amount  of 
property  abroad,  and  when  they  found  war  to  be  in 
evitable,  had  ordered  it  to  be  brought  home.  Mr- 
Gallatin  proposed  to  remit  the  forfeiture,  but  insisted, 
as  a  consideration  therefor,  that  the  owners  should 
loan  the  government  an  amount  equal  to  the  value_of 
the  property.  He  was  sustained  by  a  majority  of  the 
democratic  members,  but  the  bill  finally  passed,  by  a 
vote  of  64  to  61. 

During  the  winter  several  changes  took  place  in  the 
cabinet.  Numerous  complaints  had  been  made  in  re 
gard  to  the  unfitness  or  inefficiency  of  the  Secretaries 
of  the  war  and  navy  departments,  in  consequence  of 
which  they  sent  in  their  resignations.  These  were 
accepted  ;  and  on  the  12th  of  January,  1813,  William 
Jones,  of  Pennsylvania,  recently  of  the  navy,  was 
appointed  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Hamilton.  On  the  19th 
instant,  General  Armstrong,  late  minister  to  France, 
and  at  that  time  a  brigadier  general  in  the  regular 
army,  succeeded  Doctor  Eustis  at  the  head  of  the 
War  department. 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  169 

Previous  to    the   adjournment  of  Congress,  a  law 
was  passed  authorizing  an  extra  session  to  be  held  on 
the  24th  day  of  May,  1813.    On  the  following  day —  / 
the  4th  of  March — President  Madison  again  took  the 
oath  of  office,  and  delivered  his  inaugural  address. 

Though  a  party  to  the  great  anti-French  coalition, 
Russia  suffered  considerable  injury  from  the  interrup 
tion  of  American  commerce  during  the  continuance 
of  the  war  ;  and  on  the  8th  of  March,  1813,  her 
minister  at  Washington,  Mr.  Daschkoff,  in  pursuance 
of  his  instructions,  offered  the  mediation  of  the  Em 
peror  Alexander,  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  stating,  in  addition,  in  his  official  note, 
that  the  latter  power  had  done  everything  that  was 
possible  to  prevent  a  rupture.  President  Madison 
accepted  the  offer,  in  due  form,  on  the  llth  of  March; 
and  on  the  17th  of  April,  John  Quincy  Adams,  then 
minister  to  Russia,  Albert  Gallatin,  and  James  A. 
Bayard,  were  appointed  envoys  extraordinary  and 
ministers  plenipotentiary,  to  conclude  a  treaty  of 
peace,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Russian  autocrat. 
Messrs.  Gallatin  and  Bayard  embarked  at  an  early 
day,  and  having  joined  Mr.  Adams  at  St.  Petersburgh, 
they  proceeded  together  to  the  Baltic,  where  they 
arrived  in  the  month  of  June. 

But  Great  Britain  was  not  yet  prepared  to  abandon 
her  unjustifiable  pretensions,  either  by  word  or  deed  ; 
and  in  September  of  the  same  year,  she  declined  the 
proffered  mediation.  On  the  4th  of  November,  how 
ever,  Lord  Castlereagh,  the  British  secretary  for 
8 


170  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

foreign  affairs,  informed  the  American  government  that 
his  country  was  both  ready  and  willing  to  enter  upon 
a  direct  negotiation  for  peace.  This  proposition,  too, 
was  cordially  accepted  by  President  Madison,  and 
Lord  Castlereagh  was  informed,  in  reply,  that,  envoys 
would  be  immediately  sent  to  Gottenburg,  in  order  to 
carry  it  into  effect. 

Mr.  Barlow,  the  minister  to  France,  died  at  Czar- 
novitch,  whither  he  had  followed  the  Emperor  Napo 
leon,  on  the  26th  of  December,  1812.  The  vacant 
mission  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  William  H. 
Crawford,  of  Georgia,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1813. 

The  13th,  or.  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  war  Con 
gress,  assembled  on  the  appointed  day.  Henry  Clay 
was  re-elected  speaker,  by  a  majority  of  thirty-five 
votes,  over  Timothy  Pitkin,  the  opposing  federal  can 
didate.  Among  the  new  democratic  members  were 
John  W.  Taylor,  of  New  York  ;  Charles  J.  Ingersoll 
and  Samuel  D.  Ingham,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  John  W. 
Eppes,  of  Virginia  ;  John  Forsyth,  of  Georgia  ;  and 
William  P.  Duval,  of  Kentucky.  The  federalists  re 
ceived  a  great  accession  of  intellectual  strength,  in 
the  appearance  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  from  the  state  of 
New  Hampshire  and  Rufus  King,  of  New  York,  as 
senators  ;  and  of  Daniel  Webster,  of  New  Hampshire; 
Cyrus  King  and  Timothy  Pickering,  of  Massachusetts; 
Thomas  P.  Grosvenor,  and  Thomas  J.  Oakley,  of  New 
York  ;  Richard  Stockton,  of  New  Jersey  ;  Alexander 
C.  Hanson,  of  Maryland  ;  and  William  Gaston,  of 
North  Carolina,  as  representatives. 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  171 

Notwithstanding  the  numerical  majority  of  the 
administration,  in  the  two  houses  of  Congress,  was  so 
large,  was  not  always  to  be  counted  on  ;  for  the  rea 
son,  that  the  democratic  friends  of  Mr.  Clinton  were 
so  deeply  chagrined  on  account  of  the  result  of  the 
late  Presidential  election,  that  they  labored,  either  by 
opposing  the  nominations,  or  otherwise,  to  embarrass 
the  proceedings  of  the  Executive.  Messrs.  Adams 
and  Bayard  wrere  promptly  confirmed,  but  a  vigorous 
opposition  was  made  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  on  the  ground 
that  the  offices  of  secretary  of  the  treasury  and  envoy 
extraordinary  could  not  be  united  in  the  same  person. 
He  was  at  first  rejected,  by  a  vote  of  eighteen  to 
seventeen,  but  having  subsequently  resigned  the  sec 
retaryship,  he  was  confirmed.  Captain  Jones,  of  the 
navy  department,  performed  the  duties  of  secretary 
of  the  treasury,  in  connection  with  those  rightfully 
devolving  upon  him,  till  the  9th  day  of  February, 
1814,  when  George  W.  Campbell,  of  Tennessee,  was 
appointed  secretary  of  the  treasury,  in  the  place  of 
Mr.  Gallatin. 

Several  other  nominations  made  by  President  Madi 
son  were  rejected  at  this  session,  by  the  votes  of  the 
Clintonian  and  federal  senators.  Among  others,  was 
that  of  Jonathan  Russell,  as  minister  to  Sweden, 
which  was  negatived  on  the  most  absurd  pretences  ; 
the  declaration  of  war  being  attributed  to  his  counsel 
and  advice.  During  the  whole  controversy  he  stood 
firmly  by  his  country,  it  is  true  ;  but  he  ever  mani 
fested  a  conciliatory  spirit  when  consistent  with  the 
requirements  of  patriotism. 


172  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Most  of  the  time  of  Congress,  at  the  extra  session, 
was  spent  in  perfecting  and  passing  laws  for  the  pur 
pose  of  relieving  the  national  finances  from  embar 
rassment.  Measures,  which,  it  was  feared,  would  not 
be  popular,  and,  therefore,  were  not  urged  during  the 
presidential  canvass,  were  now  from  necessity  adopt 
ed.  The  existing  duties  on  imports  were  doubled, 
and  the  assessment  and  collection  of  direct  taxes  and 
internal  duties  were  also  provided  for.  Extraordinary 
expenses  were  incurred  in  preparing  for  the  campaign 
of  1813,  and,  more  particularly,  in  equipping  the 
militia,  who  were  at  first,  with  few  exceptions,  miser 
ably  appointed.  All  the  banks  south  of  New  England 
had  suspended  specie  payments ;  the  country  was 
flooded  with  their  discredited  paper ;  and  government 
was  obliged  to  make  use  of  them  as  depositories  of  the 
public  moneys. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  policy  of  the  federalists 
in  Congress,  or  rather,  of  the  New  England  federal 
ists,  to  oppose  the  appropriation  bills  for  the  support 
of  the  army  and  navy,  in  the  hope  that  by  embarrass 
ing  the  administration  they  would  render  it  unpopular 
with  its  friends,  or  compel  it  to  conclude  a  peace. 
The  sequel  will  show,  that,  however  sincere  they 
may  have  been  in  the  views  they  entertained,  and  in 
accordance  with  which  they  acted,  they  could  scarcely 
have  passed  a  course  better  calculated  to  destroy  the 
party.  The  more  moderate  federalists,  such  as  followed 
the  lead  of  Rufus  King,  after  the  war  had  once  been  de 
clared,  refused  to  take  any  part  in  withholding  the 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  173 

necessary  supplies,  and  many  of  them  ultimately  joined 
the  democratic  party ;  but  the  Masons,  and  Picker 
ings,  and  Websters,  of  the  13th  Congress,  wholly 
mistook  the  genius  and  character  of  the  American 
people,  and  the  mistake  proved  fatal  to  them  as  poli 
ticians.  With  all  their  firmness  and  independence,  and 
their  high-toned  integrity  and  sense  of  honor,  proba-  \ 
bly  no  class  of  men  in  our  country,  no  partisans,  were 
ever  more  prejudiced  and  bigotted  in  their  political 
sympathies,  or  more  bitter  and  vindictive  in  their  en 
mities,  than  the  federalists  of  1812. 

A  numerous  and  powerful  minority  opposed  the  war 
throughout,  but  the  majority  stood  manfully  by  the 
side  of  the  country,  and  enabled  the  government  to 
maintain  the  struggle,  not  without  reverses  and  mis 
fortunes,  indeed,  but  with  more  than  tolerable  success, 
against  one  of  the  first  powers  in  the  world. 

The  war,  in  1813,  was  conducted  with  various  for 
tune.  The  recapture  of  Detroit  was  the  first  project 
in  contemplation.  An  ill-advised  movement,  with  this 
object  in  view,  by  General  Winchester,  terminated  in 
the  terrible  defeat  and  massacre  on  the  Raisin  ;  but 
the  yeomen  of  the  west  rallied  once  more,  with 
alacrity  and  enthusiasm,  around  the  star-spangled 
banner.  At  Sandusky  and  Fort  Meigs  the  enemy 
were  repulsed.  Commodore  Perry  swept  the  British 
naval  force  from  Lake  Erie  in  September,  and  ere  the 
thundering  echoes  of  this  contest  had  died  away, 
Harrison  was  in  full  pursuit  of  the  flying  Proctor. 
Maiden  and  Detroit  were  hastily  abandoned,  and  the 


174  MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

valley  of  the  Thames  soon  witnessed  the  fit  chastise 
ment  of  the  marauders  and  savages  whom  the  British 
commander  had  gathered  round  him. 

On  the  Niagara  frontier  the  campaign  opened  au 
spiciously  ;  although  a  grievous  mistake  was  commit 
ted  at  the  outset  in  this  quarter,  in  neglecting  to  strike 
a  blow  at  Kingston,  or  gain  a  foothold  at  Prescott,  in 
order  to  cut  off  the  communication  between  the  two 
Canadian  Provinces,  and  then  attack  the  posts  in  de 
tail,  as  circumstances  favored.  York  and  Fort  George 
were  captured,  and  the  Americans,  under  General 
Dearborn,  established  themselves  in  the  peninsula.  A 
long  period  of  inactivity  followed  ;  the  enemy  were 
successful  in  one  or  two  skirmishes  •,  and  complaints 
were  frequently  heard.  General  Dearborn  was  inca 
pacitated,  by  reason  of  the  infirmities  of  age,  for  the 
proper  fulfilment  of  his  duties.  He  therefore  resigned 
his  commission,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  command 
of  the  army  by  General  Wilkinson. 

Two  columns  were  now  concentrated,  at  Grenadier 
island  and  Plattsburgh,  respectively  commanded  by 
Generals  Wilkinson  and  Hampton,  for  the  invasion  of 
Canada  and  the  capture  of  Montreal.  The  expedi 
tion  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  corresponding 
movement  from  Plattsburg,  both  ended  in  disaster  and 
disgrace.  The  army  then  retired  into  winter  quar 
ters,  scarcely  consoled  for  their  ill  success,  by  the  vic 
tories  of  Harrison  in  the  early  part  of  the  campaign, 
and  the  glorious  intelligence  soon  received  from  the 
southern  frontier,  where  Jackson  and  his  brave  troops 


175 

had  gallantly  routed,  and  almost  exterminated,  the 
Creek  warriors,  who  had  dug  up  the  hatchet  at  the 
instigation  of  British  agents,  and  the  Spanish  officers 
in  Florida. 

Outrages  and  depredations,  of  the  most  barbarous 
and  revolting  character,  were  committed  on  the  sea 
coast  by  Admiral  Cockburn  and  others  ;  and  on  the 
ocean,  our  flag  did  not  always  ride  triumphant.  The 
losses  of  American  commerce  were  great,  but  exceed 
ed  by  very  little,  if  at  all,  those  previously  sustained 
from  English  seizures  and  sequestrations,  and  French 
depredations.  Hundreds  of  British  merchant  vessels, 
however,  were  captured  this  year  by  American  pri 
vateers  ;  and  the  frigates  President,  Captain  Rodgers, 
Congress,  Captain  Smith,  and  Essex,  Captain  Porter, 
carried  terror  into  every  sea.  In  February,  the  Brit 
ish  brig  Peacock  surrendered  to  the  Hornet,  Captain 
Lawrence  ;  but  on  the  1st  of  June  following,  the  same 
officer  lost  his  life  in  the  vain  attempt  to  defend  the 
frigate  Chesapeake.  On  the  14th  of  June,  a  similar 
disaster  was  experienced  in  the  capture  of  the  Argus, 
Captain  Allen,  by  the  British  sloop-of-war  Pelican. 
But  the  successes  of  Rodgers,  Smith,  and  Porter,  more 
than  compensated  for  these  losses  ;  and  the  tide  of 
victory  again  turned,  in  September,  when  the  British 
brig  Boxer  was  captured  by  the  enterprise,  Lieuten 
ant  Burrows. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  2d  of  August,  and  re 
assembled,  for  the  regular  session,  on  the  6th  of  De 
cember.  On  the  18th  of  January,  1814,  Jonathan 


176 

Russell  and  Henry  Clay  were  added  to  the  commis 
sioners  previously  appointed  to  treat  with  Great  Brit 
ain.  There  being  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Speaker, 
Felix  Grundy  was  supported  by  the  majority  of  the 
democratic  members  as  Mr.  Clay's  successor  ;  but  the 
choice  of  the  house  fell  upon  Langdon  Cheves,  who 
received  the  votes  of  the  federalists,  and  of  a  portion 
of  the  democratic  representatives.  A  most  stringent 
embargo  and  non-intercourse  law  was  adopted,  soon 
after  the  meeting  of  Congress,  in  accordance  with  the 
recommendation  of  President  Madison  ;  but,  upon  the 
urgent  remonstrances  of  all  parties  in  the  eastern 
states,  it  was  repealed  on  the  14th  of  April  following. 
A  loan  of  twenty-five  millions  of  dollars,  in  addition 
to  previous  loans,  was  authorized  to  be  created  in  order 
to  carry  on  the  war.  Laws  were  also  passed  for  the 
augmentation  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  provision  was 
made  for  the  payment  of  bounties  and  pensions. 

On  the  19th  of  February,  Mr.  Taylor,  of  New 
York,  from  the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  report 
ed  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  National  Bank  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  with  a  capital  of  thirty  mil 
lions  of  dollars.  The  principle  of  this  bill  was  approv 
ed  by  Mr.  Cheves,  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  Grundy,  but 
opposed  by  Mr.  Eppes  and  Mr.  Seybert.  There  were 
others,  too,  who  did  not  favor  it,  for  the  reason  that 
it  contained  no  provision  for  the  establishment  of 
branches  in  the  states.  A  motion  to  engraft  this  fea 
ture  upon  the  bill,  made  by  Mr.  Fisk,  of  New  York, 
received  but  thirty-six  votes,  after  which  there  was 


177 

no  further  action  had  upon  it.  But  the  public  credit 
was  daily  depreciating  ;  treasury  notes  were  seven 
teen  per  cent.,  and  government  stocks  thirty  per  cent, 
below  par ;  and,  influenced  by  these  considerations, 
many  of  the  democratic  members  appeared  disposed 
to  waive  the  constitutional  scruples  they  had  before 
entertained  in  regard  to  the  incorporation  of  a  bank. 

Accordingly,  on  the  2d  of  April,  Mr.  Grundy,  with 
the  advice  of  President  Madison,  as  it  is  supposed,  in 
troduced  a  resolution  authorizing  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  estab 
lishing  a  National  Bank.  The  federalists,  and  a  num 
ber  of  democratic  members,  among  whom  were  Mr. 
Eppes  and  Mr.  Ingersoll,  opposed  the  resolution,  and 
voted  in  favor  of  a  motion  to  postpone  it  indefinitely. 
The  democrats,  generally,  voted  against  the  postpone 
ment,  and  a  committee  was  appointed,  of  which  Mr. 
Grundy  was  chairman.  But  within  four  days  after 
their  appointment,  they  were  discharged,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Grundy,  from  all  further  consideration  of  the  sub 
ject. 

"  During  the  session  a  very  interesting  subject  was 
submitted  to  the  consideration  of  Congress.  Twenty 
three  American  soldiers,  taken  at  the  battle  of  Queens- 
town  in  the  autumn  of  1812,  were  detained  in  close 
confinement  on  the  charge  of  being  native-born  Brit 
ish  subjects,  and  afterwards  sent  to  England  to  under 
go  a  trial  for  high  treason.  On  this  being  made  known 
to  our  government,  orders  were  given  to  General 

Dearborn  to  confine  a  like  number  of  British  prison- 

8* 


178 

ers  taken  at  Fort  George,  and  to  keep  them  as  hosta 
ges  for  the  safety  of  the  Americans ;  instructions 
which  were  carried  into  effect,  and  soon  after  made 
known  to  the  governor  of  Canada.  The  British  gov 
ernment  was  no  sooner  informed  of  this,  than  Gover 
nor  Prevost  was  ordered  to  place  forty-six  American 
commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers  in  con 
finement.  *  *  *.  General  Wilkinson  soon  after 
informed  Governor  Prevost,  that,  in  consequence  of 
orders  he  had  received  from  his  government,  he  had 
put  forty-six  British  officers  in  confinement,  to  be  there 
detained  until  it  should  be  known  that  the  American 
officers  were  released.  On  the  receipt  of  this  intelli 
gence,  the  Canadian  governor  ordered  all  the  Ameri 
can  prisoners  into  close  confinement ;  and  a  similar 
step  was  soon  after  taken  by  our  government."  * 

The  course  of  the  British  government  in  denying 
the  right  of  expatriation,  and  her  claim  to  the  perpet 
ual  allegiance  of  her  subjects — made,  too,  when  her 
practice,  on  the  continent,  was  directly  the  reverse, 
and  when  Moreau  and  Bernadotte,  were  leading  the 
allied  forces  against  the  armies  of  their  native  land — 
found  many  advocates  on  the  floor  of  Congress  ;'and 
Mr.  Hauson,  the  editor  of  the  federal  newspaper  at 
Baltimore  whose  office  had  been  mobbed,  with  others 
of  the  same  party,  made  able  speeches  on  that  side 
of  the  question  ;  but  the  democratic  members,  and 
some  of  the  federalists,  scouted  an  idea  which,  as 
they  regarded  it,  was  wholly  at  variance  with  the 
genius  and  spirit  of  our  free  institutions. 

*Brackenridge's  History  of  the  war  of  1812. 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  179 

After  fixing  upon  a  day  in  advance  of  the  regular 
time,  for  the  commencement  of  the  ensuing  session, 
Congress  adjourned  on  the  18th  of  April,  1814. 

The  brillant  successes  achieved  by  the  British  in 
the  Spanish  peninsula,  and  the  comparative  pacification 
of  that  portion  of  the  continent,  enabled  the  enemy  to 
increase  her  naval  force  on  our  seaboard,  and  to  send 
out  large  numbers  of  additional  troops.  Vigorous 
preparations,  too,  were  made  to  prosecute  the  war 
with  greater  vigor.  But,  on  the  other  side,  the 
Americans  redoubled  their  exertions.  The  depreda 
tions  committed  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  the  rejec 
tion  of  the  Russian  mediation,  had  created  hosts  of 
friends  for  the  administration,  and  the  elections  that 
took  place  this  year  were  decidedly  more  favorable. 
Some  of  the  ultra  federalists  in  the  Eastern  States 
endeavored  to  stem  the  current,  and  the  Hartford 
Convention,  in  the  autumn  of  1814,  was  designed  to 
give  expression  to  their  views,  and  to  concoct  plans 
for  compelling  the  executive  to  terminate  the  war. 
A  cloud  of  mystery  still  enshrouds  the  doings  of  this 
body,  and  the  designs  of  its  movers  have  never  been 
fully  divulged.  It  is  not  probable  that  they  contem 
plated  any  overt  act  of  hostility  to  the  general  gov 
ernment,  though  they  may  have  favored  a  secession 
of  the  New  England  states  from  the  confederacy. 
They  intended,  doubtless,  to  stop  just  short  of  treason; 
and  such  has  long  since  been  the  deliberate  judgment 
of  the  American  people. 

Early  in  July,  one  column  of  the  American  army, 


180  MADISON  S    ADMINISTRATION. 

now  officered  by  younger  and  more  active  and  enter 
prising  men  crossed  the  Niagara,  and  took  possession 
of  Fort  Erie.  The  well-fought  battles  of  Chippewa 
and  Niagara,  if  not  productive  of  any  decisive  re 
sults,  while  they  crowned  the  brows  of  ^fie  gallant 
Brown,  and  Scott,  and  their  associates,  with  unfading 
laurels,  vindicated,  in  addition,  the  military  reputation 
of  the  country.  Large  reinforcements  having  joined 
the  British  general,  the  Americans  now  under  General 
Gaines,  were  besieged  in  Fort  Erie  ;  but  they  de 
fended  themselves  with  spirit  and  bravery,  and  main 
tained  their  position  in  the  peninsula,  until  the  neces 
sity  of  going  into  winter  quarters  compelled  them  to 
recross  the  river. 

After  making  extensive  preparations,  Sir  George 
Prevost  penetrated  into  New  York,  by  the  way  of 
Lake  Champlain,  with  an  immense  land  force,  suppor 
ted  by  a  considerable  fleet  under  Commodore  Downie. 
The  issue  of  this  expedition  was  decided  on  the  lake, 
where  Commodore  Macdonough,  in  command  of  the 
American  naval  force,  nearly  annihilated  the  British 
flotilla.  A  few  indecisive  skirmishes  took  place  be 
tween  the  British  army  and  the  American  troop  at 
Plattsburg  and  its  vicinity,  under  General  Macomb  ; 
but  after  the  defeat  of  Commodore  Downie,  Sii 
George  Prevost  retired  into  Canada,  with  the  shat 
tered  remnants  of  his  army,  in  great  haste  an c1  dis 
order. 

In  the  month  of  August,  a  powerful  English  squad 
ron,  under  Sir  Alexander  Cochrane,  having  on  board 


181 

a  large  body  of  troops  commanded  by  General  Ross, 
entered  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  proceeded  up  the  Pa- 
tuxent  to  Marlborough,  where  they  landed  without 
opposition.  Through  the  negligence  of  the  secretary 
of  war,  suitable  preparations  had  not  been  made  to 
receive  the  enemy  ;  and  the  indecision,  and  want  of 
energy,  of  General  Winder,  who  commanded  the 
American  troops  hastily  collected  together,  enabled 
them  to  achieve  an  easy  victory  over  him,  at  Bla- 
densburg.  The  British  commander  then  proceeded  to 
Washington,  where  the  dock-yards  and  shipping,  and 
the  pacific  edifices  of  the  government,  including  the 
capitol  with  the  valuable  library  of  Congress,  and  the 
President's  house,  were  destroyed,  on  the  24th  of 
August,  under  his  orders.  Having  completed  this 
barbarous  and  unjustifiable  work  of  destruction,  he 
retired  to  his  shipping,  and  again  descended  the  river 
to  the  Chesapeake.  In  September  General  Ross  as 
cended  the  bay  with  his  forces,  in  the  expectation  of 
effecting  the  capture  of  Baltimore.  A  spirited  and 
successful  defence  was  made,  however ;  the  British 
commander  was  killed  ;  and,  as  the  country  had  now 
br  x>me  fully  aroused,  the  English  squadron,  fearing 
for  its  own  safety,  descended  the  bay,  and  sailed  for 
Pe..sacola,  where  iarge  reinforcements,  under  General 
Pakenham,  a  relative  and  favorite  lieutenant  of  Well- 
ing<  ^n,  shortly  after  arrived.  The  attack  and  capture 
of  New  Orleans,  known  to  be  in  a  defenceless  state, 
was  now  projected  by  the  united  forces. 

President   Madison,    and   the   secretaries  of  state, 


182 

war,  and  the  navy,  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  untoward 
result  of  the  contest  at  Bladensburg.  Returning  to 
Washington,  the  public  archives  were  partially  se 
cured,  and  the  President  then  retired  into  Virginia, 
from  whence  he  issued  a  proclamation,  on  the  1st  of 
September,  calling  upon  the  people  to  rally  in  defence 
of  the  country,  and  encouraging  them  to  persevere  in 
maintaining  the  contest. 

On  the  ocean  our  arms  sustained  a  great  reverse  in 
the  early  part  of  the  year,  in  the  capture  of  the  frigate 
Essex,  in  the  harbor  of  Valparaiso,  by  two  British 
vessels,  on  the  28th  of  March.  Later  in  the  season, 
the  navy  met  with  better  fortune.  The  British  sloop- 
of-war  Epervier  was  captured  by  the  Peacock,  in  the 
gulf  of  Mexico  ;  and  the  American  sloop-of-war  Wasp, 
Captain  Blakeley,  made  prizes,  successively,  of  two 
vessels  of  similar  force  with  herself,  in  the  English 
channel. 

Congress  had  adjourned  to  meet  on  the  last  Monday 
in  October,  but  it  was  called  together  on  the  19th  of 
September,  by  a  proclamation*  of  the  Executive,  in 
consequence  of  the  threatened  attack  on  New  Orleans, 
and  the  embarrassing  condition  of  the  finances.  It 
appeared  from  the  President's  message,  that  the  sum 
of  thirty  two  millions  of  dollars  kad  been  received 
into  the  treasury  during  the  nine  months  ending  on 
the  30th  of  June  previous,  eleven  millions  of  which 
were  the  proceeds  of  the  public  revenue  and  the  re 
mainder  the  avails  of  the  loans  authorized  by  Con 
gress.  The  disbursments  during  the  same  period  had 


183 

exceeded  thirty-four  millions,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
provide  large  sums,  in  addition,  to  meet  the  expenses 
incident  to  a  continuance  of  hostilities.  The  Presi 
dent  informed  Congress,  that,  as  the  English  orders 
in  council  had  been  repealed,  and  the  general  pacifi 
cation  in  Europe  had  withdrawn  the  occasion  for  the 
practice  of  impressment,  peace  and  amity  would 
probably  be  soon  established  by  the  commissioners  of 
the  two  belligerents,  who  had  assembled  at  Ghent,  in 
the  month  of  August,  instead  of  at  Gottenburg  as  had 
been  first  proposed. 

General  Armstrong  was  severely  censured  for  the 
disastrous  capture  of  Washington,  and  the  President 
seemed  it  his  duty  to  request  him  to  retire  from 
Washington  for  a  short  time,  in  order  that  the  ex 
citement  might  subside.  The  secretary  constructed 
this  into  an  affront,  and  resigned  his  office  on  the  26th 
of  September.  Mr.  Monroe  then  took  charge  of  the 
war  department.  It  was  designed  that  he  should  re 
sign  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  it  was  ten 
dered  to  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  governor  of  New  York, 
who  had  rendered  the  most  efficient  services  to  the  ad 
ministration  in  carrying  on  the  war.  Mr.  Tompkins, 
however,  declined  the  appointment,  and  Mr.  Monroe 
continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  both  offices,  till 
the  2d  of  March.  1816,  when  William  H.  Crawford, 
of  Georgia,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  war. 

Other  changes  had  been  made  in  the  cabinet  previ 
ous  to  this  time.  Mr.  Pinckney  resigned  the  office  cvf 
attorney  general,  and  was  succeeded  by  Richard  Rush, 


184 

of  Pennsylvania,  on  the  10th  of  February,  1814.  Mr. 
Granger  continued  to  manifest  so  much  hostility  to 
the  administration,  that  the  President  removed  him 
from  office,  and,  on  the  17th  of  March,  1814,  appoint 
ed  Return  Jonathan  Meigs,  governor  of  the  State  of 
Ohio,  postmaster  general,  in  his  place. 

Ill  health  compelled  Mr.  Campbell  to  resign  the  of 
fice  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  towards  the  close 
of  September,  1814,  and,  on  the  6th  of  October,  Al 
exander  J.  Dallas,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  appointed  to 
succeed  him. 

Among  the  measures,  adopted  by  the  13th  congress, 
at  its  last  session,  was  one  imposing  a  new  direct  tax 
of  six  millions  of  dollars ;  another  imposing  addition 
al  internal  duties,  and  increasing  the  rates  of  postage 
fifty  per  cent.  A  violent  opposition  was  made  to 
these  proceedings,  but  without  success,  by  the  federal 
members.  A  bill  was  also  introduced  authorizing  the 
president  to  call  out  the  militia  of  any  state,  if  the 
governor  thereof  refused  so  to  do  :  it  was  carried 
through  the  House,  by  dint  of  great  exertions,  but 
defeated  in  the  Senate  by  one  vote.  Mr.  Monroe,  the 
acting  Secretary  of  war,  made  a  report  on  the  17th 
of  October,  in  favor  of  increasing  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  army,  to  one  hundred  thousand  men,  by  draft 
ing  the  requisite  number  from  the  free  male  popula 
tion  of  the  United  States.  A  similar  proposition  for 
the  augmentation  of  the  naval  force,  was  made  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  navy,  Mr.  Jones,  who  was  sue- 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  185 

ceeded  in  his  office,  on  the  19th  of  December,    1814, 
by  Benjamin  W.  Crowninshield,   of  Massachusetts. 

The  cry  of  conscription  and  impressment  was  forth 
with  raised  by  the  opponents  of  the  administration, 
and  Congress  hesitated  in  adopting  the  recommenda 
tions  of  the  cabinet  officers.  Mr.  Monroe  soon  dis 
covered  that  nothing  like  the  prompt  action  he  desired, 
and  which  was  absolutely  necessary,  could  be  antici 
pated.  Orders  were  therefore  given  to  the  militia  of 
the  western  states  to  hasten  to  the  defence  of  New 
Orleans  ;  Mr.  Monroe  pledged  his  individual  credit  in 
order  to  raise  the  funds  required  for  that  purpose,  on 
account  which  he  was  embarrassed,  in  his  pecuniary 
circumstances,  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  ;  and 
thus  General  Jackson  was  enabled  to  achieve  the  bril 
liant  victory  on  the  plains  of  Chalmette,  which  closed 
the  war  in  a  blaze  of  glory. 

Fortunately,  these  stringent  measures  for  the  in 
crease  of  the  army  and  navy,  were  not  rendered  ne 
cessary,  in  consequence  of  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty 
of  peace,  at  Ghent,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1814X 
Intelligence  of  this  event  was  received  in  the  United 
States,  in  the  month  of  February,  and  communicated 
to  Congress  officially,  by  the  President,  on  the  20th 
inst.  The  British  commissioners  had  at  one  time  as 
sumed  a  highly  offensive  and  arrogant  tone  ;  but  the 
victories  of  Brown  and  Scott,  the  defeat  of  Commo 
dore  Downie,  and  the  inglorious  retreat  of  Sir  George 
Prevost,  soon  moderated  their  demands.  They  at  first 
insisted  that  the  Indian  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the 


186 

union  should  forever  enjoy  a  separate  and  independent 
sovereignty.  This  was  instantly  rejected  by  the 
American  commissioners.  As  the  orders  in  council 
had  been  repealed,  and  the  British  government  had 
discontinued  the  practice  of  impressment,  there  were 
not,  however,  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  con 
clusion  of  the  treaty  which  was  ultimately  signed. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  a  mutual  restoration  of 
all  places  and  possessions  taken  during  the  war,  or 
that  might  be  taken  after  its  signature,  was  stipulated, 
and  the  boundaries  between  the  United  States  and  the 
British  possessions  on  the  north,  were  more  satisfac 
torily  adjusted.  In  regard  to  the  practice  of  impress 
ment  the  treaty  was  silent ;  for  the  reason,  as  stated 
by  the  American  to  the  British  commissioners,  under 
instructions  from  the  secretary  of  State,  that  Great 
Britain  had  abandoned  it.  The  causes  of  the  war 
had  been  entirely  removed  ;  the  orders  in  council  had 
been  revoked,  and  impressment  was  no  longer  prac 
ticed  ;  hence,  everything  for  which  the  United  States 
engaged  in  the  contest,  had  either  directly  or  tacitly 
been  conceded;  and  they  could,  without  any  sacrifice 
of  honor,  join  in  a  pacification,  even  though  the  trea 
ty  was  silent  in  regard  to  those  measures  which  had 
originally  led  to  hostilities. 

Various  propositions  for  the  charter  of  a  Bank  of 
the  United  States,  were  brought  forward  at  the  ses 
sion  of  1814 — 15.  At  length,  after  much  discussion, 
a  bill  passed  the  Senate,  on  the  9th  of  December, 
1814,  providing  for  the  incorporation  of  a  bank  with 


187 

a  capital  of  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  The  vote  stood 
17  to  14  ;  the  federal  members  opposing  the  bill  in 
consequence  of  their  disapprobation  of  some  of  its 
details,  in  connection  with  those  democrats  who  be 
lieved  it  to  be  unconstitutional.  In  the  House  the  bill 
was  amended  so  as  to  reduce  the  capital  stock  to  thir 
ty  millions  of  dollars,  and  in  some  other  features  al 
terations  were  made.  It  was  then  pressed  to  a  final 
vote  on  the  7th  of  January,  1815.  The  result  was, 
120  in  favor  of  the  bill,  to  37  against  it.  Messrs. 
Calhoun,  Forsyth,  Ingersoll,  and  Lowndes,  of  the 
democratic  party,  supported  the  bill,  together  with 
Messrs.  Oakley,  Pickering,  Pitkin,  and  Webster,  of 
the  opposition.  Messrs.  Grosvenor  and  King,  promi 
nent  federalists,  voted  against  it,  as  did  also,  Messrs. 
Eppes,  Fisk,  of  New  York,  Macon,  and  Seybert. 

The  senate  having  concurred  in  the  amendments  of 
the  House,  the  bill  was  sent  to  the  President  for  his 
signature  on  the  21st  day  of  January.  On  the  30th 
instant, 'the  President  returned  the  bill  with  his  objec 
tions.  He  expressly  waived  the  question  of  the  con 
stitutional  power  to  charter  such  an  institution, 
as  being  precluded,  by  repeated  recognitions,  on 
former  occasions,  of  its  validity  ;  but  his  objections 
were,  that  the  hank  proposed  to  be  incorporated  by 
the  bill,  would  not,  in  his  judgment,  revive  the  public 
credit,  or  provide  a  circulating  medium,  or  furnish 
the  necessary  loans,  in  time  of  war.  The  bill  being 
then  reconsidered  in  the  senate,  but  fifteen  voted  in 
favor  of  its  passage,  to  nineteen  against  it,  wherefore 


188  MADISON  S    ADMINISTRATION. 

it  was  declared  lost.  Other  attempts  to  procure  a 
charter  were  made  at  this  session,  but  all  failed  of 
success. 

On  the  23rd  of  November,  1814,  the  vice  president 
of  the  United  States,  had  died  suddenly  in  his  carriage, 
while  on  his  way  to  the  capitol.  During  the  remain 
der  of  the  session,  John  Gaillard,  of  South  Carolina, 
officiated  as  president  pro.  tern,  in  the  Senate. 

Before  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  which  took 
place  on  the  3rd  of  March,  1815,  the  army  was  re 
duced  to  a  peace  establishment,  and  the  non-inter 
course  law  was  repealed.  An  act  was  also  passed 
authorizing  the  President  to  dispatch  a  squadron  to 
the  Mediterranean  to  chastise  the  Algerines,  whose 
cruisers  had  committed  serious  depredations  on  Amer 
ican  commerce.  The  force  ordered  upon  this  service 
was  placed  under  the  command  of  Commodore  De- 
catur,  who  soon  captured  and  destroyed  all  the  prin 
cipal  vessels  of  the  enemy,  and  dictated  to  them  terms 
of  peace  at  the  cannon's  mouth. 

The  14th  Congress  assembled  at  Washington,  for 
their  first  regular  session,  on  the  4th  of  December, 
and  continued  in  session  till  the  30th  of  April  1816. 
The  democrats  had  about  fifty  majority,  and  as  Mr. 
Clay  had  been  returned  to  this  Congress,  he  was  once 
more  elected  speaker,  without  serious  opposition.  At 
this  session  reduced  rates  of  postage  were  established, 
and  a  great  reduction  in  the  duties  and  taxes  was 
made.  A  new  tariff  of  duties  on  importations,  de 
signed  to  be  moderately  protective  to  American  man- 


189 

ufacturers,  was  adopted,  with  the  concurrence  and 
approbation  of  Messrs.  Clay,  Calhoun,  Lowndes,  and 
other  prominent  members  of  the  democratic  party. 

Shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  session,  a  com 
mittee  on  a  national  currency,  of  which  Mr.  Calhoun 
was  chairman,  was  appointed.  Having  obtained  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  a  plan  for  a  national 
bank,  adapted,  as  was  said,  to  the  pressing  emergen 
cies  of  the  country,  Mr.  Calhoun  reported  a  bill  of 
incorporation  from  the  committee,  on  the  8th  of  Janu 
ary,  1815.  By  this  bill  a  bank  was  proposed  to  be 
chartered  with  a  capital  of  thirty-five  millions  of  dol 
lars,  seven  millions  of  which  was  to  be  taken  by  the 
United  States,  to  be  located  in  the  city  of  Philadephia. 
The  bill  finally  passed  the  House  on  the  14th  of  March, 
by  a  vote  of  80  to  71  ;  and  on  the  3d  of  April  was 
sustained  in  the  Senate,  by  a  vote  of  22  to  12.  The 
bill  was  subsequently  approved  by  Mr.  Madison,  and 
went  into  operation,  with  Langdon  Cheves,  of  South 
Carolina,  late  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives, 
as  its  first  president. 

The  last  session  of  Congress  held  during  the  ad 
ministration  of  Mr.  Madison,  commenced  on  the  2d 
of  December,  1816,  and  terminated  on  the  3d  day  of 
March,  1817.  The  President  congratulated  the  mem 
bers  of  the  two  houses,  in  his  annual  message,  on  the 
prosperous  condition  of  the  country,  since  the  return 
of  the  peace,  and  the  promise  afforded  of  a  steady 
advancement,  in  the  future,  along  the  bright  career 
which  destiny  had  marked  out  for  her.  One  of  the 


MADISONS  ADMINISTRATION. 

most  important  acts  passed  at  this  session  was  that 
providing  for  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  which 
now  exceeded  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of 
dollars,  though  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  its  au 
thor,  Mr.  Lowndes,  chairman  of  the  committee  of 
ways  and  means.  The  navigation  laws  were  revised, 
and  an  act  was  passed  regulating  the  territories,  and 
authorizing  them  to  be  represented  in  Congress,  by  a 
single  delegate  each. 

Indiana  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state  on 
the  llth  of  December,  1816.  Shortly  before  the 
close  of  the  session,  the  bonus  to  be  paid  by  the  bank 
of  the  United  States  for  its  charter,  was  appropriated 
by  act  of  Congress  to  purposes  of  internal  improve 
ment  ;  but  the  bill  was  vetoed  by  the  President,  and, 
consequently,  did  not  become  a  law. 

With  the  third  day  of  March,  1817,  the  administra 
tion  of  President  Madison  expired.  It  was  his  fortune 
to  conduct  the  affairs  of  state  in  a  most  trying  period 
of  our  country's  history;  but  she  passed  in  safety 
through  the  perils  that  beset  her  ;  and  when  he  re 
tired  to  the  peaceful  shades  of  Montpelier,  he  left  his 
countrymen  in  the  enjoyment  of  an  unusual  degree 
of  tranquility,  prosperity  and  happiness, — he  left  "  a 
government,"  to  quote  the  language  of  his  last  annual 
message,  "  which  avoids  intrusion  on  the  internal  re 
pose  of  other  nations,  and  repels  them  from  its  own  ; 
which  does  justice  to  all  nations  with  a  readiness 
equal  to  the  firmness  with  which  it  requires  justice 
from  them  ;  and  which,  while  it  refines  its  domestic 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION.  191 

code  from  every  ingredient  not  congenial  with  the 
precepts  of  an  enlightened  age,  and  the  sentiments  of 
a  virtuous  people,  seeks  by  appeals  to  reason  and  by 
its  liberal  examples,  to  infuse  into  the  law  which  gov 
erns  the  civilized  world  a  spirit  which  may  diminish 
the  frequency,  or  circumscribe  the  calamities  of  war, 
and  meliorate  the  social  and  beneficient  relations  of 
peace  :  a  government,  in  a  word,  whose  conduct, 
within  and  without,  may  bespeak  the  most  noble  of 
all  ambitions — that  of  promoting  peace  on  earth,  and 
good  will  to  man." 


LIFE  OF 

JAMES   MONROE, 

BY  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS 


LIFE 


OF 


JAMES  MONROE: 


AMONG  the  peculiarities  affecting  the  condition  of 
human  existence,  in  a  community  formed  within  the 
period  allotted  to  the  life  of  man,  is  the  state  of  being 
exclusively  belonging  to  the  individuals  who  assisted 
in  the  formation  of  that  community.  Three  thousand 
years  have  elapsed  since  the  Monarch  of  Israel,  who, 
from  that  time,  has  borne  the  reputation  of  the  wisest 
of  men,  declared  that  there  was  no  new  thing  under 
the  sun.  And  then,  as  now,  the  assertion,  confined  to 
the  operations  of  nature,  to  the  instincts  of  animal 
life,  to  the  primary  purposes,  and  innate  passions  of 
human  kind,  was,  and  is,  strictly  true.  Of  all  the  il 
lustrations  of  the  sentiment  given  by  him,  the  course 
is  now  as  it  was  then.  One  generation  passeth  away, 
and  another  generation  cometh.  To  the  superficial 
observation  of  the  human  eye,  the  Sun  still  ariseth 

*  Eulogy  delivered  before  the  Corporation  of  Boston,  1831. 


198  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

and  goeth  down  ;  the  wind  whirleth  about  continual 
ly  ;  all  rivers  run  into  the  sea,  which  yet  is  not  full ; 
and  all  things  are  full  of  labor,  which  man  cannot  ut 
ter  :  yet,  although  the  thing  that  hath  been  is  that 
which  shall  be,  and  that  which  is  done  is  that  which 
shall  be  done, — still  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  see 
ing,  nor  the  ear  filled  with  hearing  :  and  this  affords 
the  solution  to  all  the  rest.  The  aspirations  of  man 
to  a  better  condition  than  that  which  he  enjoys,  are 
at  once  the  pledges  of  his  immortality,  and  the  privi 
leges  of  his  existence  upon  earth  ;  they  combine  for 
his  enjoyment  the  still  freshening  charms  of  novelty 
with  the  immutable  laws  of  creation,  and  intertwine 
the  ever-varying  felicities  of  his  condition  with  the 
unchangeable  monotony  of  nature. 

Thus,  a  thousand  years  after  Solomon  had  ceased 
to  exist  upon  earth,  when  his  kingdom  had  been  ex 
tinguished,  and  his  nation  carried  into  captivity,  there 
arose  among  his  own  descendants,  a  Redeemer  of  the 
human  race  from  the  thraldom  of  sin  ;  the  Mediator 
of  a  new  covenant  between  God  and  man.  From  that 
time,  though  all  remained  unchanged  in  the  phenome 
na  of  creation,  all  was  new  in  the  condition  of  human 
life.  In  the  rise  and  fall  of  successive  empires,  other 
novelties  succeed  each  other  from  age  to  age.  New 
planets  are  discovered  in  the  heavens,  and  new  conti 
nents  are  revealed  upon  earth.  New  pursuits  are 
opened  to  industry  ;  new  comforts  to  enjoyment  ;  new 
prospects  to  hope.  The  secrets  of  the  physical  and 
intellectual  world  are  gradually  disclosed  ;  the  pow- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  199 

ers  of  man  are  from  time  to  time  enlarged  :  but  the 
eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  nor  the  ear  filled  with 
hearing.  The  tendency  of  the  magnet  to  the  pole, 
and  its  application  to  the  purposes  of  navigation  ;  the 
composition  of  gunpowder,  and  its  application  to  the 
purposes  of  war ;  the  invention  of  printing,  and  its 
application  to  all  the  purposes  of  man  in  peace  and 
war, — to  the  wants  of  the  body,  and  the  expansion  of 
the  mind, — the  gift  as  it  were,  of  a  new  earth  to  re 
plenish  and  subdue,  by  the  disclosure  of  a  new  hemis 
phere,  to  the  enterprise  and  capacities  of  man  ;  all 
these  things  are  new  in  the  records  of  the  human  spe 
cies.  Each  of  these  things  diverted  into  a  new  chan 
nel  the  current  of  human  affairs,  and  furnished  for  the 
lord  of  the  creation  a  new  system  of  occupations  in 
his  progress  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 

But  of  all  the  changes  effected,  and  all  the  novel 
ties  introduced  into  the  condition  of  human  beings, 
since  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  none 
has  been  more  considerable  than  that,  the  develop 
ment  of  which  began  with  the  severance  of  the  Brit 
ish  colonies  in  North  America  from  the  parent  stock. 
The  immediate  collision  of  rights,  interests,  and  pas 
sions,  which  produced  the  conflict  between  the  par 
ties,  and  ended  in  sundering  the  two  portions  of  the 
empire  engaged,  occupied  and  absorbed  the  agency 
and  the  powers  of  the  actors  on  that  memorable  thea 
tre.  An  English  poet  has  declared  it  praise  enough 
to  fill  the  ambition  of  a  common  man,  that  he  was  the 
countryman  of  Wolfe,  and  spoke  the  language  of 


200  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

Chatham.  The  colonists  who  achieved  the  indepen 
dence  of  North  America,  were  the  countrymen  of 
Wolfe,  and  Chatham's  language  was  their  mother- 
tongue.  But  of  what  avail  for  praise  would  this  have 
been  to  them,  had  they  not  possessed  souls,  inspired 
with  the  same  principles,  and  hearts  endowed  with 
higher  energies  than  those  which  conducted  those  il 
lustrious  names  to  the  pinnacle  of  glory.  Never 
would  the  object  of  the  North  American  Revolution 
have  been  accomplished  but  by  men,  in  whose  bosoms 
the  love  of  liberty  had  been  implanted  from  their  birth 
and  imbibed  from  the  maternal  breast. 

Considered  in  itself,  the  independence  of  our  coun 
try  was  only  the  splitting  up  of  one  civilized  nation 
into  two — caused  by  usurpation  ;  consummated  by 
war.  As  such,  it  constituted  one  great  element  in  the 
history  of  civilized  man  during  its  continuance  ;  but 
that  was  short  and  transient.  From  the  Stamp  Act 
to  the  definite  Treaty  of  Peace,  concluded  at  Paris, 
on  the  third  of  September,  1783,  a  term  of  less  than 
twenty  years  intervened, — a  term  scarcely  sufficient 
for  the  action  of  one  of  the  dramas  of  Shakspeare. 
It  was  not  even  equal  to  the  duration  of  one  age  of 
man.  We  have  already  lived  since  the  close  of  that 
momentous  struggle  nearly  thrice  the  extent  of  time, 
in  which  it  passed  through  all  its  stages,  and  there  are 
yet  among  the  living  those  whose  birth  preceded  even 
that  of  the  questions  upon  which  hinged  our  indepen 
dent  existence  as  a  nation. 

Among  these  was  the  distinguished  person,  whose 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  201 

earthly  career  terminated  on  the  fifty-fifth  Anniversa 
ry  of  our  National  Independence. 

James  Monroe  was  born  in  September,  1759,  in  the 
County  of  Westmoreland,  in  the  then  Colony  of  Vir 
ginia  ;  and  at  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  was  in  the  process  of  completing  his  education 
at  the  college  of  William  and  Mary.  He  was  then 
seventeen  years  of  age,  and  at  the  first  formation  of 
the  American  army  entered  it  as  a  cadet.  Had  he 
been  born  ten  years  before,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted 
that  he  would  have  been  one  of  the  members  of  the 
first  Congress,  and  that  his  name  would  have  gone 
down  to  posterity  among  those  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Among  the  blessings 
conferred  by  a  beneficent  Providence  upon  this  coun 
try  in  the  series  of  events  which  composed  that  Revo 
lution,  was  its  influence  in  the  formation  of  individual 
and  of  national  character.  The  controversy  which 
preceded  the  Revolutionary  war,  necessarily  formed 
by  a  practical  education  the  race  of  statesmen,  by 
whom  it  was  conducted  to  its  close.  The  nature  of 
the  controversy  itself,  turning  upon  the  elementary 
principles  of  civil  society,  upon  the  natural  rights  of 
man,  and  the  foundations  of  government,  pointed  the 
attention  of  men  to  the  investigation  of  those  princi 
ples  ;  exercised  all  the  intellectual  faculties  of  the 
most  ardent  and  meditative  souls,  and  led  to  discover 
ies  in  the  theory  of  government  which  have  changed 
the  face  of  the  world. 

The  conflict  of  mind  preceded  that  of  matter.     The 


202  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

question  at  issue,  between  Great  Britain  and  her  col 
onies,  was  purely  a  question  of  right.  On  one  side, 
a  pretension  to  authority,  on  the  other  a  claim  of  free 
dom.  It  was  a  lawsuit  between  the  British  King  and 
Parliament  of  the  one  part,  and  the  people  of  the 
colonies,  of  the  other,  pleaded  before  the  tribunal  of 
the  human  race.  It  was  an  advantage  to  the  cause 
of  the  colonies  in  that  contest,  that  it  reposed  exclu 
sively  upon  the  basis  of  right.  <l  Authority,"  says  a 
keen  observer  of  human^nature, 

•*  Authority,  though  it  err  like  others, 
Hath  yet  a  kind  of  medicine  in  itself 
That  skins  the  vice  on  the  top." 

In  the  preluding  struggle  to  the  war  of  Indepen 
dence,  British  authority  was  constantly  administering 
this  self-healing  medicine  to  her  own  wrongs.  The 
first  assertion  of  her  right,  was  an  act  of  Parliament 
to  levy  a  tax.  When  she  found  its  execution  imprac 
ticable,  she  repealed  the  tax,  but  declared  the  right  of 
Parliament  to  make  laws  for  the  colonies,  in  all  cases 
whatsover.  To  this  mere  declaration,  the  colonies 
could  make  no  resistance.  It  skinned  the  vice  on  the 
top.  With  the  next  act  of  taxation  she  sent  fleets 
and  armies  for  the  healing  medicine  to  her  errors. 
She  dissolved  the  colonial  Assemblies,  revoked  the 
colonial  charters,  sealed  up  the  port  of  Boston,  an 
nihilated  the  colonial  fisheries,  and  proclaimed  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  bay  in  rebellion.  These 
were  the  healing  medicines  of  British  authority  ; 
while  the  only  pretence  of  right  that  she  could  allege 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  203 

for  all  these   acts,  was  the  sovereignty  of  the   British 
Parliament. 

To  contend  against  this  array  of  power,  the  only 
defence  of  the  colonies  at  the  outset  was  the  right  and 
justice  of  their  cause.  From  the  first  promulgation 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  the  spirit  of  resistance,  with  the 
speed  of  a  sunbeam,  flashed  instantaneous  through  all 
the  colonies ;  kindled  every  heart  and  raised  every 
arm.  But  this  spirit  of  resistance,  and  this  unanimity, 
would  have  been  transitory  and  evanescent,  had  it  not 
been  sustained,  invigorated,  and  made  invincible,  by 
the  basis  of  eternal  and  immutable  justice  in  the 
cause.  It  engrossed,  it  absorbed  all  the  faculties  of 
the  soul.  It  inspired  the  eloquence  which  poured 
itself  forth  in  the  colonial  Assemblies,  in  the  instruc 
tions  from  the  inhabitants  of  many  of  the  towns  to 
their  Representatives,  and  even  in  newspaper  essays, 
and  occasional  pamphlets  by  individuals.  The  gen 
eral  contest  gave  rise  to  frequent  incidental  controver 
sies  between  the  royal  Governors,  and  the  colonial 
Legislatures,  in  which  the  collision  of  principles, 
stimulated  the  energies,  directed  the  researches,  and 
expanded  the  faculties  of  those  who  maintained  the 
rights  of  their  country.  The  profoundest  philosophi 
cal  statesman  of  the  British  empire,  at  that  period, 
noticed  the  operation  of  these  causes,  in  one  of  his 
admirable  speeches  to  the  House  of  Commons.  He 
remarked  the  natural  tendency  and  etfect  of  the  study 
and  practice  of  the  law,  to  quicken  the  intellect,  and 
to  sharpen  the  reasoning  powers  of  men.  He  observ- 
9* 


204  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE. 

ed  the  preponderant  portion  of  lawyers  in  the  colonial 
Legislatures,  and  in  the  Continental  Congress,  and  the 
influence  of  their  oratory  and  their  argument  upon 
the  understanding  and  the  will  of  their  countrymen. 
Yet  that  same  clear  sighted  and  penetrating  statesman, 
long  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  penned 
with  his  own  hand  an  address  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  urging  them  to  return  to  their  British 
allegiance,  and  assuring  them  that  their  struggle  against 
the  colossal  power  of  Great  Britain,  must  be  fruitless 
and  vain.  Chatham  himself,  the  most  eloquent  orator 
of  England — whose  language  it  is  the  boast  of  honest 
pride  to  speak — Chatham,  a  peer  of  the  British  realm, 
in  the  sanctury  of  her  legislation,  declared  his  appro 
bation  of  the  American  cause,  his  disclaimer  of  all 
right  in  Parliament  to  tax  the  colonies,  and  his  joy, 
that  the  people  of  the  colonies  had  resisted  the  pre 
tension.  Yet  that  same  Chatham,  not  only  after  the 
declaration,  but  after  the  conclusion  of  solemn  treaties 
of  alliance  between  the  United  States  and  France, 
sacrificed  the  remnant  of  his  days,  and  wasted  his  ex 
piring  breath,  in  feeble  and  fruitless  protestations 
against  the  irrevocable  sentence  to  which  his  country 
was  doomed — the  acknowledgment  of  American  Inde 
pendence.  It  has  been  said,  that  men's  judgments 
are  a  parcel  of  their  fortunes  ;  and  they  who  believe 
in  a  superintending  Providence  have  constant  occasion 
to  remark  the  wisdom  from  above,  which  unfolds  the 
purposes  of  signal  improvement  in  the  condition  of 
man,  by  preparing,  and  maturing  in  advance,  the  in- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  205 

struments  by  which  they  are  ultimately  to  be  accom 
plished.  The  intellectual  conflict,  which,  for  a  term 
of  twelve  years,  had  preceded  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence,  had  formed  a  race  of  men,  of  whom  the 
signers  of  that  instrument  were  the  selected  and  faith 
ful  representatives.  Their  constituents  were  like 
themselves.  Life,  fortune,  and  sacred  honor  were 
staked  upon  the  maintenance  of  that  declaration.  Not 
alone  the  life,  fortune,  and  sacred  honor  of  the  individ 
uals  who  signed  their  names,  but  with  little  exception, 
of  the  people  whom  they  represented.  One  spirit  an 
imated  the  mass,  and  that  spirit  was  invincible.  It  is 
a  striking  circumstance  to  remark,  that  in  the  island 
of  Great  Britain,  not  a  single  mind  existed  capable  of 
comprehending  this  spirit  and  its  power. — Deeper  and 
more  capacious  minds,  bolder  and  more  ardent  hearts, 
than  Burke  and  Chatham,  have  seldom,  in  any  age  of 
the  world,  and  in  any  region  of  the  earth,  appeared 
upon  the  stage  of  action.  Yet  we  have  here  unques 
tionable  demonstration  that  neither  of  them  had  form 
ed  a  conception  of  the  power,  physical,  moral  and  in 
tellectual,  of  that  unextinguishable  flame  which  per 
vaded  every  particle  of  the  man,  soul  and  body,  of 
the  self  declared  independent  American.  It  is  an  easy 
resource  of  vulgar  controversy  to  transfer  the  stress 
of  her  argument  from  the  cause,  to  the  motive  of  her 
adversary,  and  the  rottenness  of  any  cause,  wrill  gen 
erally  be  found  proportioned  to  the  propensity  mani 
fested  by  its  supporters,  to  resort  to  this  expedient. 
On  the  question  which  bred  the  revolution  of  indepen- 


206  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

dence,  the  taxation  of  the  colonies  by  Parliament,  all 
the  great  and  leading  minds  of  the  British  islands,  all 
who  have  left  a  name  on  which  the  memory  of  pos 
terity  will  repose,  Mansfield  and  Johnson  excepted, 
were  on  the  American  side.  Burke,  Chatham,  Cam- 
den,  Fox,  Sheridan,  Rockingham,  Dunning,  Barre, 
Lansdown,  all  recorded  their  constant,  deep  and  sol 
emn  protestations,  against  the  system  of  measures 
which  forced  upon  the  colonies  the  blessing  of  Inde 
pendence.  But  when  Chatham  and  Camden  raised  in 
vain  their  voices  to  arrest  the  uplifted  arm  of  oppres 
sion,  George  Grenville  and  his  abettors  knew,  or 
deemed  so  little  of  the  spirit  and  argument  of  the 
Americans,  that  they  affirmed  it  was  all  furnished  for 
them  by  Chatham  and  Camden,  and  that  their  only 
motive  was  to  supplant  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exche 
quer.  Adam  Smith,  the  penetrating  searcher  into  the 
cause  of  the  wealth  of  nations,  whose  book  was 
published  about  a  year  after  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  without  deigning  to  spend  a  word  upon  the 
cause  of  America,  with  deep  sagacity  of  face  and 
gravity  of  muscle,  assures  his  readers,  that  they  are 
very  weak,  who  imagine  that  the  Americans  will 
easily  be  conquered — for  that  the  Continental  Con 
gress  consists  of  men,  who  from  shopkeepers,  trades 
men  and  attornies,  are  become  statesmen  and  legisla 
tors.  That  they  are  employed  in  contriving  a  new 
form  of  government,  for  an  extensive  empire,  which 
they  justly  flatter  themselves  will  become  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  formidable  that  ever  was  in  the 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  207 

world.  That  if  the  Americans  should  be  subdued,  all 
these  men  would  lose  their  importance — and  the  remedy 
that  he  proposes  is.  to  start  a  new  object  for  their  am 
bition,  by  forming  a  union  of  the  colonies  with  Great 
Britain,  and  admitting  some  of  the  leading  Americans 
into  Parliament.  Yet  this  man  was  the  author  of  a 
Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments  in  which  he  resolved  all 
moral  principle  into  sympathy. 

True  it  was,  that  the  shopkeepers,  tradesmen  and 
attornies,  were  occupied  in  contriving  a  new  form  of 
government,  for  an  extensive  empire,  which  they 
might  reasonably  flatter  themselves  would  become 
the  greatest  and  most  glorious  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  They  were  at  the  same  time  employed  in  rais 
ing,  organizing,  training  and  disciplining  fleets  and 
armies  to  maintain  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  of  their 
country,  against  all  Britannia's  thunders.  And  they 
were  employed  in  maintaining  by  reason  and  argu 
ment  before  the  tribunal  of  mankind,  and  in  the  face 
of  heaven,  the  eternal  justice  of  their  cause.  Thus 
they  were  employed.  Thus  had  been  employed  the 
members  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  thousands 
of  their  constituents,  from  the  time  when  the  princes 
and  nobles  of  Britain  had  imposed  these  employments 
upon  them,  by  the  visitation  of  the  Stamp  Act.  And 
now  is  it  not  matter  of  curious  speculation,  does  it 
not  open  new  views  of  human  nature,  to  observe, 
that  while  the  shopkeepers,  tradesmen  and  attornies 
of  British  North  America  were  thus  employed,  Adam 
Smith,  the  profound  theorist  of  moral  sentiment,  the 


*20S  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

illustrious  discoverer  of  the  sources  of  the  wealth  of 
nations,  could  in  the  depth  and  compass  of  his  mighty 
mind,  imagine  no  operative  impulse  to  the  conduct  of 
men  thus  employed,  but  a  paltry  gratification  of  van 
ity,  in  their  individual  importance,  from  which  they 
might  easily  be  weaned,  by  the  superior  and  irresisti  - 
ble  allurement  of  a  seat  in  the  British  House  of 
Commons  1 

More  than  half  a  century  has  now  passed  away  ; 
the  fruits  of  the  employment  of  these  shopkeepers, 
tradesmen  and  attornies,  transformed  into  statesmen 
and  legislators,  now  form  the  most  instructive,  as  well 
as  the  most  splendid  chapter  in  the  history  of  man 
kind.  They  did  contrive  a  new  form  of  government 
for  an  extensive  empire,  which  nothing  under  the 
canopy  of  heaven,  but  the  basest  degeneracy  of  their 
posterity  can  prevent  from  becoming  the  greatest  and 
the  most  formidable  that  the  world  ever  saw.  They 
did  maintain  before  earth  and  heaven,  the  justice 
of  their  cause.  They  did  defend  their  country  against 
all  the  thunders  of  Britain,  and  compelled  her  mon 
arch,  her  nobles,  and  her  people,  to  acknowledge  the 
Independence  which  they  had  declared,  and  to  receive 
their  confederated  republic  among  the  sovereign  po 
tentates  of  the  world.  Of  the  shopkeepers,  trades 
men  and  attornies,  who  composed  the  Congress  of 
Independence,  the  career  on  earth  has  closed.  They 
sleep  with  their  fathers.  Have  they  lost  their  indi 
vidual  importance  1  Say,  ye  who  venerate  as  an 
angel  upon  earth,  the  solitary  remnant  of  that  assem- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  209 

bly,  yet  lingering  upon  the  verge  of  eternity.  Give 
me  the  rule  of  proportion,  between  a  seat,  from  old 
Sarum,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  name  of 
CHARLES  CARROLL,  of  Carrollton,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  ?  Was  honest  fame,  one 
of  the  motives  to  action  in  the  human  heart,  excluded 
from  the  philosophical  estimate  of  Adam  Smith?  Did 
he  suppose  patrotism,  the  love  of  liberty,  benevolence 
and  ardor  for  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  human 
kind,  inaccessible  to  the  bosoms  of  the  shopkeepers, 
statesman,  and  attorney  legislators  1  I  forbear  to 
pursue  the  inquiry  further,  though  more  ample  illus 
tration  might  easily  be  adduced  to  confirm  the  position 
which  I  would  submit  to  your  meditations  :  that  the 
conflictjjur^our  national  Independence^__and,  the  con 
troversy  of  twelve  years  which  preceded  it,  did,  in 
the  natural  course  of  events,  and  by  the  ordinary  dis 
pensations  of  Providence,  produce  and  form  a  race  of 
men,  of  moral  and  intellectual  power,  adapted  to  the 
times  and  circumstances  in  which  they  lived,  and  with 
characters  and  motives  to  action,  not  only  differing 
from  those  which  predominate  in  other  ages  and 
climes,  but  of  which  men  accustomed  only  to  the 
common  place  impulses  of  human  nature,  are  no  more 
able  to  form  a  conception,  than  blindness,  of  the  col 
ors  of  the  rainbow. 

Of  this  race  of  men,  JAMES  MONROE  was  one — not 
of  those  who  did,  or  could  take  a  part  in  the  prelim 
inary  controversy,  or  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence.  He  may  be  said  almost  to  have  been  born 


210  LIFE    OP    JAMJES    MONROE. 

with  the  question,  for  at  the  date  of  the  Stamp  Act, 
he  was  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  age  ;  but  he  was  bred 
in  the  school  of  the  prophets,  and  nurtured  in  the  detes 
tation  of  tyranny.  His  patriotism  out-stripped  the 
lingering  march  of  time,  and  at  the  dawn  of  manhood, 
he  joined  the  standard  of  his  country.  It  was  at  the 
very  period  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  issu 
ed  as  you  know  at  the  hour  of  severest  trial  to  our 
country,  when  every  aspect  of  her  cause  was  unpro- 
pitious  and  gloomy.  Mr.  Monroe  commenced  his 
military  career,  as  his  country  did  that  of  her  Inde 
pendence,  with  adversity.  He  joined  her  standard 
when  others  were  deserting  it.  He  repaired  to  the 
head-quarters  of  Washington  at  New  York,  precisely 
at  the  time  when  Britain  was  pouring  her  thousands 
of  native  and  foreign  mercenaries  upon  our  shores  ; 
when  in  proportion  as  the  battalions  of  invading  armies 
thickened  and  multiplied,  those  of  the  heroic  chieftain 
of  our  defence  were  dwindling  to  the  verge  of  disso 
lution.  When  the  disastrous  days  of  Flatbush,  Hrer- 
lem  Heights  and  White  Plains,  were  followed  by  the 
successive  evacuation  of  Long  Island,  and  J\Tew  York, 
the  surrender  of  Fort  Washington,  and  the  retreat 
through  the  Jersies  ;  till  on  the  day  devoted  to  cele 
brate  the  birth  of  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  of  the 
same  year  on  which  Independence  was  proclaimed, 
Washington,  with  the  houseless  heads,  and  unshod 
feet,  of  three  thousand  new  and  undisciplined  levies, 
stood  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Delaware,  to  con 
tend  in  arms  with  the  British  Lion,  and  to  baffle  the 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  211 

skill  and  energy  of  the  chosen  champions  of  Britain, 
with  ten  times  the  number  of  his  shivering  and  ema 
ciate  host  ;  the  stream  of  the  Delaware,  forming  the 
only  barrier  between  the  proud  array  of  thirty  thou 
sand  veteran  Britons,  and  the  scanty  remnant  of  his 
dissolving  bands.  Then  it  was  that  the  glorious  lead 
er  of  our  forces  struck  the  blow  which  decided  the 
issue  of  the  war.  Then  it  was  that  the  myriads  of 
Britain's  warriors  were  arrested  in  their  career  of 
victory,  by  the  hundreds  of  our  gallant  defenders,  as 
the  sling  of  the  shepherd  of  Israel  prostrated  the 
Philistine,  who  defied  the  armies  of  the  living  God. 
And  in  this  career  both  of  adverse  and  of  prosperous 
fortune,  James  Monroe  was  one  of  that  little  Spartan 
band,  scarcely  more  numerous,  though  in  the  event 
more  prosperous,  than  they  who  fell  at  Thermopylae. 
At  the  Heights  of  Haerlem,  at  the  White  Plains,  at 
Trenton  he  was  present,  and  in  leading  the  vanguard, 
at  Trenton,  received  a  ball,  which  sealed  his  patriotic 
devotion  to  his  country's  freedom  with  his  blood.  The 
superintending  Providence  which  had  decreed  that  on 
that,  and  a  swriftly  succeeding  day,  Mercer,  and  Hase- 
let,  and  Porter,  and  Neal,  and  Fleming,  and  Shippen, 
should  join  the  roll  of  warlike  dead,  martyrs  to  the 
cause  of  liberty,  reserved  Monroe  for  higher  services, 
and  for  a  long  and  illustrious  career,  in  war  and  in 
peace. 

Recovered  from  his  wound,  and  promoted  in  rank, 
as  a  reward  for  his  gallantry  and  suffering  in  the  field, 
he  soon  returned  to  the  Army,  and  served  in  the 


212  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

character  Qf  Aid*de-Camp  to  Lord  Sterling,  through 
the  campaigns  of  1777  and  1778  :  during  which,  he 
was  present  and  distinguished  in  the  actions  of  Bran- 
dywine,  Germantown  and  Monmouth.  But,  having 
by  this  been  superseded  in  his  lineal  rank  in  the  Army, 
he  withdrew  from  it,  and  failing,  from  the  exhausted 
state  of  the  country,  in  the  effort  to  raise  a  regiment, 
for  which,  at  the  recommendation  of  Washington,  he 
had  been  authorized  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia, 
he  resumed  the  study  of  the  law,  under  the  friendly 
direction  of  the  illustrious  Jefferson,  then  Governor 
of  that  Commonwealth.  In  the  succeeding  years,  he 
served  occasionally  as  a  volunteer,  in  defence  of  the 
State,  against  the  distressing  invasions  with  which  it 
was  visited,  and  once,  after  the  fall  of  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  in  1780,  at  the  request  of  Governor 
Jefferson,  repaired,  as  a  military  commissioner,  to 
collect  and  report  information  with  regard  to  the  con 
dition  and  prospects  of  the  southern  Army  and  States; 
a  trust,  which  he  discharged  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  Governor  and  Executive,  by  whom  it  had  been 
committed  to  him. 

In  1782,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Virginia,  and,  by  them,  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Council.  On  the  9th  of  June,  1783,  he 
was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  ;  and,  on  the  thirteenth  of  December,  of  the 
same  year,  took  his  seat  in  that  body,  at  Annapolis, 
where  his  first  act  was,  to  sit  as  one  of  those  repre 
sentatives  of  the  nation  into  whose  hands  the  victorious 


v*^ 


"T 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 


leader  of  the  American  Armies 

mission.  Mr.  MONROE  was  now  twenty-four  years 
of  age,  and  had  already  performed  that,  in  the  service 
of  his  country,  which  would  have  sufficed  for  the 
illustration  of  an  ordinary  life. 

The  first  fruits  of  his  youth  had  been  given  to  her  [ 
defence  in  war  ;  the  vigor  and  maturity  of  his  man 
hood  was  now  to  be  devoted  to  her  welfare  in  council. 
The  war  of  Independence  closed  as  it  had  begun,  by 
a  transaction  new  under  the  sun.  The  fourth  of  July, 
1776,  had  witnessed  the  social  compact  of  a  self-con 
stituted  nation,  formed  by  Peace  and  Union,  in  the 
midst  of  a  calamitous  and  desolating  war.  To  carry 
that  nation  through  this  war,  the  sole  object  of  which, 
thenceforward,  was  the  perpetual  establishment  of 
that  self-proclaimed  Independence,  a  Standing  Army 
became  indispensable.  Temporary  levies  of  undisci 
plined  militia,  and  enlistments  for  a  few  weeks,  or 
months,  were  soon  found  inadequate  for  defence 
against  the  veteran  legions  of  the  invader. — Enlist 
ments  for  three  years,  were  finally  succeeded  by  per 
manent  engagements  of  service  during  the  war.  These 
forces  were  disbanded  at  the  peace.  Successive  bands 
of  warriors  had  maintained  a  conflict  of  seven  years' 
duration,  but  Washington  had  been  the  commander 
of  them  all.  His  commission,  issued  twelve  months 
before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  had  been 
commensurate  with  the  war.  He  was  the  great  mili 
tary  leader  of  the  cause  ;  and  so  emphatically  did  he 
exemplify  the  position  I  have  assumed,  that  Providence 


214  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

prepares  the  characters  of  men,  adapted  to  the  emer 
gencies  in  which  they  are  to  be  placed,  that,  were  it 
possible  for  the  creative  power  of  imagination  to  con 
centrate  in  one  human  individual  person,  the  cause  of 
American  Independence,  in  all  its  moral  grandeur  and 
sublimity,  that  person  would  be  no  other  than  WASH 
INGTON.  His  career  of  public  service  was  now  at  an 
end.  The  military  leaders  of  other  ages  had  not  so 
terminated  their  public  lives.  Gustavus  Vasa,  William 
of  Orange,  the  Duke  of  Braganza,  from  chieftains  of 
popular  revolt,  had  settled  into  hereditary  rulers  over 
those  whom  they  had  contributed  to  emancipate.  The 
habit  of  command  takes  root  so  deep  in  the  human 
heart,  that  Washington  is  perhaps  the  only  example 
in  human  annals  of  one  in  which  it  was  wholly  extir 
pated.  In  all  other  records  of  humanity,  the  heroes 
of  patriotism  have  sunk  into  hereditary  Princes.  Glo 
rious  achievements  have  claimed  always  magnificent 
rewards.  Washington,  receiving  from  his  country  the 
mandate  to  fight  the  battles  of  her  freedom,  assumes 
the  task  at  once  with  deep  humility,  and  undaunted 
confidence,  disclaiming  in  advance  all  reward  of  profit, 
which  it  might  be  in  her  power  to  bestow.  After 
eight  years  of  unexampled  perils,  labors  and  achieve 
ments,  the  warfare  is  accomplished ;  the  cause  in 
which  he  had  drawn  his  sword,  is  triumphant  ;  the  in 
dependence  of  his  country  is  established  ;  her  union 
cemented  by  a  bond  of  confederation,  the  imperfection 
of  which  had  not  yet  been  disclosed  ;  he  comes  to 
the  source  whence  he  first  derived  his  authority,  and, 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  215 

in  the  face  of  mankind,  surrenders  the  truncheon  of 
command,  restores  the  commission,  the  object  of  which 
had  been  so  gloriously  accomplished,  and  returns  to 
mingle  with  the  mass  of  his  fellow  citizens,  in  the 
retirement  of  private  life,  and  the  bosom  of  domestic 
felicity. 

Three  years,  from  1783  to  1786.  Mr.  Monroe  con 
tinued  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  and 
had  continual  opportuuity  of  observing  the  utter  in 
efficiency  of  that  Compact  for  the  preservation  and 
welfare  of  the  Union. 

The  union  of  the  North  American  Colonies,  may 
be  aptly  compared  to  the  poetical  creation  of  the 
world  : 

From  HARMONY — from  Heavenly  Harmony 

This  universal  frame  began  ; 
When  Nature,  underneath  an  heap 

Of  jarring  atoms  lay, 

And  could  not  heave  her  head — 
The  tuneful  voice  was  heard  from  high 
Arise,  ye  more  than  dead, 
Then  cold  and  hot,  and  moist  and  dry, 

In  order  to  their  stations  leap, 
1  And  Music's  power  obey. 

Such  with  more  than  poetical  truth,  was  the  creation 
of  the  American  Union. 

When  on  the  fifth  of  September,  1774,  a  number 
of  the  delegates  chosen  and  appointed  by  the  several 
colonies  and  provinces  in  North  America,  to  meet  and 
hold  a  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  assembled  at  the 
Carpenter's  Hall, — on  that  same  day,  a  new  nation 
was  created  ;  then,  indeed,  it  was  but  in  embryo. 


216  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE, 

Neither  Independence,  nor  self-government,  nor  per 
manent  confederation,  were  of  the  purposes  for  which 
that  Congress  was  convened.  It  was  to  draw  up  and 
exhibit  statements  of  the  common  grievances  :  to 
consult  and  confer  upon  the  common  violated  rights  ; 
to  address  their  fellow-subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and 
of  the  colonies,  with  complaint  of  wrongs  endured, 
and  humbly  to  petition  his  most  excellent  majesty, 
their  most  gracious  sovereign,  for  redress.  These 
purposes  were  performed,  and  totally  failed  of  suc 
cess  ;  but  the  Union  was  formed  ;  the  seed  of  Inde 
pendence  was  sown  ;  and  the  Congress,  after  a  session 
of  seven  weeks,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  dis- 
\  solved. 

When  the  second  Congress  met,  on  the  10th  of  May 
1775,  the  war  had  already  commenced :  blood  had 
flowed  in  streams  at  Concord  and  Lexington  ;  and 
scarcely  had  they  been  a  month  in  session,  when  the 
fires  of  Charlestown  ascended  to  an  avenging  heaven; 
and  Warren  fell  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  the  Union 
before  that  of  Independence  was  even  born.  Still, 
the  powers  and  instructions  of  the  delegates  extend 
ed  only  to  concert,  agree  upon,  direct,  and  order  such 
further  measures  as  should,  to  them,  appear  to  be  best 
calculated  for  the  recovery  and  establishment  of 
American  rights  and  liberties,  and  for  restoring  har 
mony  between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies. 

These  objects  were  pursued  with  steadiness,  perse 
verance,  and  sincerity,  till  the  people,  whom  they  rep 
resented,  sickened  at  the  humiliations  to  which  they 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  217 

submitted  ;  till  insult  heaped  upon  injury,  and  injury 
superadded  to  insult,  aggravated  the  burden  to  a  point 
beyond  endurance  :  the  decree  of  the  people  went 
forth  :  the  whole  people  of  the  United  Colonies  de 
clared  them  Independent  States  :  the  nation  was  born; 
like  the  first  of  the  human  race,  issuing,  full  grown 
and  perfect,  from  the  hands  of  his  Maker. 

But  while  this  Independence,  thus  declared,  was  to 
be  maintained  by  a  war, — of  the  successful  issue  of 
which,  all  spirit,  but  that  of  heroic  martyrdom,  might 
well  despair — all  the  institutions  of  organized  author- 
ty  were  to  be  created.  By  an  act  of  primitive  sov 
ereignty,  the  people  of  the  colonies  annihilated  all  the 
civil  authorities  by  which  they  had  been  governed  : 
as  one  corporate  body,  they  declared  themselves  a  mem 
ber  of  the  community  of  civilized,  but  independent 
nations, — acknowledging  the  Christian  Code  of  natu 
ral  and  conventional  laws, — united,  already,  by  sol 
emn  compact,  but  without  organized  government, 
either  for  the  Union,  or  for  the  separate  members  ; 
also,  corporate  and  associated  bodies,  of  which  it  was 
composed. 

The  position  of  the  people  of  these  colonies  on  that 
day,  was  a  new  thing  under  the  sun.  The  nature  and 
character  of  the  war  was  totally  changed.  Their  re 
lations,  individual  and  collective,  towards  one  another, 
towards  the  government  and  people  of  Great  Britain, 
towards  all  the  rest  of  mankind,  were  changed  ;  they 
were  men  in  society,  and  yet  had  reverted  to  the  state 
of  nature  ;  they  had  no  government,  no  fundamental 


218  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

laws.  Inhabiting  a  territory  more  extensive  than  all 
Europe,  previously  divided  into  thirteen  communities, 
little  sympathizing  with  one  another,  and  actuated  by 
principles  more  of  mutual  repulsion,  than  attraction, 
with  elements  for  legislation  not  only  various,  but  hos 
tile  to  each  other,  they  were  called  at  one  and  the 
same  time  to  wage  a  war  of  unparalleled  difficulty 
and  danger.  To  transfer  their  duties  of  allegiance, 
and  their  rights  of  protection  from  the  Sovereign  of 
their  birth  to  the  new  republic  of  their  own  creation  ; 
and  to  rebuild  the  superstructure  of  civil  society,  by 
a  complicated  government,  adequate  to  their  wants  ; 
a  firm,  compact  and  energetic  whole,  composed  of 
thirteen  entire  independent  parts.  The  first  and  most 
urgent  of  their  duties,  because  in  its  nature  it  admit 
ted  of  no  delay,  was  to  provide  for  the  maintenance 
and  conduct  of  the  war  ;  but  with  all  its  difficulties, 
that  was  the  least  ardous  of  their  duties.  To  organ 
ize  the  government  of  a  mighty  empire,  was  a  task 
which  had  never  before  been  performed  by  man.  The 
undertaking  formed  an  era  in  the  annals  of  the  human 
race  ;  an  era  far  surpassing  in  importance  all  others 
since  the  appearance  of  the  Saviour  upon  earth. 

There  were  fortunately  a  few  fundamental  princi 
ples  upon  which  there  was  among  the  proclaimers  of 
Indepeadence,  a  perfect  unanimity  of  opinion.  The 
first  of  these  was  that  the  Union  already  formed  be 
tween  the  Colonies  should  be  permanent — perpetual 
— indissoluble.  The  second,  that  it  should  be  a  con 
federated  Union,  of  which  each  Colony  should  be  an 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  219 

independent  State.  Self  governed  by  its  own  muni 
cipal  Code — but  of  which  each  citizen,  should  be  also 
a  citizen  of  the  whole.  The  third,  that  the  whole 
confederation,  and  each  of  its  members,  should  be  re-i. 
publican  ;  without  hereditary  monarch,  without  privi-  \ 
leged  orders.  On  the  tenth  of  May,  preceding  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  Congress  had  passed  a 
resolution,  recommending  to  the  several  Colonies  to 
adopt  such  government  as  should,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  Representatives  of  the  people,  best  conduce  to 
the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  constituents  in  par 
ticular,  and  America  in  general  ;  and  in  the  preamble 
to  this  Resolution,  adopted  five  days  later,  they  assign 
ed  as  the  reason  for  it  the  necessity  that  the  exercise 
of  every  kind  of  authority  under  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain,  should  be  totally  suppressed,  and  all  the  pow 
ers  of  government  exercised  under  the  authority  of  THE 
PEOPLE  of  the  Colonies. 

And  on  the  eleventh  of  June,  1776,  the  same  day 
upon  which  the  Committee  was  appointed  to  report 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  it  was  resolved  to 
appoint  another  Committee  to  prepare  and  digest  the 
form  of  a  confederation  to  be  entered  into  between 
the  colonies,  and  a  third  Committee  to  prepare  a  plan 
of  treaties  to  be  proposed  to  foreign  powers. 

Thus  far  there  had  been  no  diversity  of  opinion 
among  those  whose  minds  were  made  up  for  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence.  The  people  of  each  colony 
were  to  construct  their  own  form  of  Government  :  a 
form  of  Confederation  was  to  be  prepared  for  the 
10 


220  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

whole.  The  history  of  mankind,  ancient  and  modern 
presented  several  examples  of  confederated  States, 
not  one  of  a  confederated  Government ;  and  even  of 
former  confederations  there  was  not  one  which  ex 
tended  over  a  territory  equal  to  that  of  one  member 
of  the  American  Union.  For  a  confederated  Govern 
ment,  the  people  of  the  colonies  were  utterly  unpre 
pared.  The  constitutions  of  the  States  were  formed 
without  much  difficulty,  and,  after  more  than  half  a 
century,  although  we  have  witnessed  frequent  and 
numerous  changes  in  their  organization,  there  have 
been  scarcely  any  of  important  principle.  The  great 
features  of  the  political  system  upon  which  American 
Independence  was  declared,  remained  unchanged — 
bright  in  immortal  youth.  For  Union,  for  Indepen 
dence,  for  self-government,  the  elements  were  all  at 
hand,  and  they  were  homogeneous.  There  was  no 
seed  of  discord  and  of  strife  among  them.  For  the 
structure  of  the  confederacy  it  was  not  so.  There 
was  first  a  general  spirit  of  distrust  and  jealousy 
against  the  investment  of  the  federal  head  with  pow 
er.  There  were  then  local  and  sectional  prejudices, 
interests,  and  passions,  tending  to  reciprocal  discon 
tents  and  enmities.  There  were  diversities  in  the 
tenure  and  character  of  property  in  the  different 
States,  not  altogether  harmonizing  with  the  cause  of 
Independence  itself.  There  were  controversies  of 
boundaries  between  many  of  the  contiguous  colonies, 
and  questions  of  deeper  vitality,  to  whom  the  extra 
territorial  lands,  without  the  bounds  of  the  colonial 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  221 

charters,  but  within  the  compass  of  the  federative 
domain,  would  belong  1  So  powerfully  did  these 
causes  of  discord  operate,  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggle  for  Independence,  that  nearly  five  years 
elapsed  after  the  Declaration,  before  the  consent  of 
the  States  could  be  obtained  to  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation. 

This  experiment,  as  is  well  known,  proved  a  total 
failure.  The  Articles  of  Confederation  were  ratified 
by  ten  of  the  States  as  early  as  July,  1778.  Mary 
land  withheld  her  assent  to  them  until  March,  1781, 
when  it  first  went  into  operation  :  and  even  then  one 
of  its  principal  defects  was  so  generally  perceived 
and  foreseen,  that  on  the  preceding  third  of  February, 
Congress  had  adopted  a  resolution,  declaring  it  indis 
pensably  necessary  that  they  should  be  vested  with  a 
power  to  levy  an  impost  duty  of  five  per  cent,  to  pay 
the  public  debt.  Even  this  power  some  of  the  States 
refused  to  grant. 

In  December,  1783,  when  Mr.  Monroe  took  his  seat 
in  Congress,  the  first  act  of  that  body  should  have 
been  to  ratify  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain,  which  had  been  signed  at  Paris  on  the 
preceding  third  of  September.  That  treaty  was  the 
transaction  which  closed  the  revolutionary  war,  and 
settled  forever  the  question  of  American  Indepen 
dence.  It  was  stipulated  that  its  ratifications  should 
be  exchanged  within  six  months  from  the  day  of  its 
signature  ;  and  we  can  now  scarcely  believe  it  pos 
sible,  that  but  for  a  mere  accident,  the  faith  of  the 


222  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

nation  would  have  been  violated,  and  the  treaty  itself 
cancelled,  for  want  of  a  power  in  Congress  to  pass  it 
through  the  mere  formalities  of  ratification.  By  the 
articles  of  confederation,  no  treaty  could  be  concluded 
without  the  assent  of  nine  States. — Against  the  rati 
fication  there  was  not  a  voice  throughout  the  Union  ; 
but  only  seven  States  were  assembled  in  Congress. 
Then  came  a  captious  debate,  whether  the  act  of  rati 
fication  was  a  mere  formality  for  which  seven  States 
were  as  competent  as  nine,  or  whether  it  was  the 
very  medullary  substance  of  a  Treaty,  which,  unless 
assented  to  by  nine  States,  would  be  null  and  void — a 
monstrous  and  tyrannical  usurpation. 

All  the  powers  of  government,  in  free  countries, 
emanate  from  the  people  :  all  organized  and  operative 
power  exists  by  delegation  from  the  people.  Upon 
these  two  pillars  is  erected  the  whole  fabric  of  our 
freedom.  That  all  exercise  of  organized  power  should 
be  for  the  benefit  of  the  people,  is  the  first  maxim  of 
government ;  and  in  the  delegation  of  power  to  the 
government,  the  problem  to  be  solved  is  the  most  ex 
tensive  possible  grant  of  power  to  be  exercised  for 
the  common  good  ;  with  the  most  effective  possible 
guard  against  its  abuse  to  the  injury  of  any  one.  Our 
fathers,  who  formed  the  confederation,  witnesses  to 
the  recent  abuse  of  organized  power,  and  sufferers  by 
it,  mistook  the  terms  of  the  problem  before  them,  and 
thought  that  the  only  security  against  the  abuse  of 
power,  was  stinginess  of  grant  in  its  organization  :  not 
duly  considering  that  power  not  delegated,  cannot  be 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  223 

exercised  for  the  common  good,  and  that  the  denial  of 
it,  to  their  government,  is  equivalent  to  the  abdica 
tion  of  it  by  themselves.  All  impotence  of  the  gov 
ernment,  therefore,  thus  becomes  the  impotence  of 
the  people  who  formed  it ;  and  in  its  result  places  the 
nation  itself  on  a  footing  of  inferiority,  compared  with 
others  in  the  community  of  independent  nations.  Nor 
did  they  sufficiently  foresee  that  this  excessive  cau 
tion  to  withhold  beneficent  power  in  the  organic  frame 
of  government,  necessarily  and  unavoidably  leads  to 
usurpation  of  it.  The  ordinance  for  the  Government 
of  the  North-western  Territory,  was  a  signal  exam 
ple  of  this  course  of  things  under  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation.  A  perusal  of  the  journals  of  Congress, 
public  and  secret,  from  the  year  1778,  when  the  Arti 
cles  of  Confederation  were  completed,  and  partially 
adopted,  till  1789,  when  they  were  superseded  by  the 
present  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  will  give 
the  liveliest  and  most  perfect  idea  of  the  character  of 
the  Confederation,  and  of  the  condition  of  the  Union 
under  it.  Among  the  mischievous  consequences  of 
the  inability  of  Congress  to  administer  the  affairs  of 
the  Union,  was  the  waste  of  time  and  talents  of  the 
most  eminent  patriots  of  the  country,  in  captious,  ir 
ritating  and  fruitless  debates.  The  commerce,  the 
public  debt,  the  fiscal  concerns,  the  foreign  relations, 
the  public  lands,  the  obligations  to  the  revolutionary 
veterans,  the  intercourse  of  war  and  peace  with  the 
Indian  tribes,  were  all  subjects  upon  which  the  benefi 
cent  action  of  Congress  was  necessary  ;  while  at  ev- 


224  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

ery  step,  and  upon  every  subject,  they  were  met  by 
the  same  insurmountable  barriers  of  interdicted  or 
undelegated  power.  These  observations  may  be  deem 
ed  not  inappropriate  to  the  apology  for  Mr.  Monroe, 
and  for  all  the  distinguished  patriots  associated  with 
him  during  his  three  years  of  service  in  the  Congress 
of  the  Confederation,  in  contemplating  the  slender  re 
sults  of  benefit  to  the  public  in  all  the  service  which 
it  was  possible  for  them,  thus  cramped  and  crippled, 
to  render. 

Within  the  appropriate  sphere  of  action,  however, 
to  which  the  powers  of  Congress  were  competent  Mr. 
Monroe  took  a  distinguished  part.  That  body  often 
resolved  itself  into  a  Committee  of  the  Whole,  to  de 
liberate  upon  an  empty  Treasury,  upon  accumulating 
debts,  and  clamorous  creditors  ;  upon  urgent  recom 
mendations  to  the  State  Legislatures,  which  some  of 
them  would  adopt,  simply,  and  some  conditionally  ; 
others,  indefinitely  postpone  ;  some,  leave  without 
answer  ;  and  others,  sturdily  reject.  This  Commit 
tee  of  the  Whole  referred  every  knotty  subject  to  a 
Select  Committee,  from  whom  they  would  in  due 
time  receive  an  able,  and  thoroughly  reasoned  Re 
port,  which  they  would  debate  by  paragraphs,  and  fi 
nally  reject  for  some  other  debatable  substitute,  or 
adopt  with  numerous  amendments,  and  after  many  a 
weary  record  of  yeas  and  nays. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1783,  the  Resolution 
of  Congress  had  passed,  declaring  it  absolutely  ne 
cessary  that  they  should  be  vested  with  a  power  to 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  225 

levy  an  impost  of  five  per  cent.  On  the  thirteenth 
of  April,  1784,  another  Resolution  was  adopted,  re 
commending  to  the  Legislature  of  the  States  to  grant 
to  Congress  the  power  of  regulating  commerce.  And 
on  the  13th  of  July,  1785,  Congress  debated  the  Re 
port  of  a  Committee  of  which  Mr.  Monroe  was  the 
Chairman,  combining  the  objects  of  both  those  prior 
resolutions,  and  proposing  such  alteration  of  the  Ar 
ticles  of  the  Confederation,  as  was  necessary  to  vest 
Congress  with  the  power  both  to  regulate  commerce, 
and  to  levy  an  impost  duty.  These  measures  were 
not  abortive,  inasmuch  as  they  were  progressive  steps 
in  the  march  towards  better  things.  They  led  first  to 
the  partial  convention  of  delegates  from  five  States, 
at  Annapolis,  in  September  1786  ;  and  then  to  the 
general  convention  at  Philadelphia,  in  1787,  which 
prepared  and  proposed  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Whoever  contributed  to  that  event,  is  justly 
entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  the  present  age,  as  a  pub 
lic  benefactor  ;  and  among  them  the  name  of  Monroe 
should  be  conspicuously  enrolled. 

Among  the  very  few  powers  which,  by  the  Arti 
cles  of  Confederation,  had  been  vested  in  Congress, 
was  that  of  constituting  a  Court  of  Commissioners, 
selected  from  its  own  body,  to  decide  upon  any  dis 
puted  question  of  boundary  jurisdiction,  or  any  other 
cause  whatever,  between  any  two  States  in  the 
Union.  These  Commissioners  were  in  the  first  in 
stance,  to  be  chosen,  with  mutual  consent,  by  the 
agents  of  the  two  States,  parties  to  the  controversy  ; 


226  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

the  final  determination  of  which  was  submitted  to 
them. 

Such  a  controversy  had  taken  place  between  the 
States  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York,  the  agents 
of  which  attending  in  Congress  in  December,  1784, 
agreed  upon  nine  persons,  to  constitute  the  federal 
court,  to  decide  the  question  between  the  parties.  Of 
these  nine  persons,  James  Monroe  was  one  :  a  dis 
tinction,  in  the  26th  year  of  his  age,  indicating  the 
high  estimation  in  which  he  was  already  held  through 
out  the  Union.  The  subsequent  history  of  this  con 
troversy  to  its  final  and  friendly  settlement,  affords  an 
illustration  coinciding  with  numberless  others,  of  the 
imbecility  of  the  confederacy.  On  the  twenty-first 
of  March,  1785,  Congress  were  informed  by  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Monroe,  that  he  accepted  the  appointment 
of  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Federal  Court,  to  decide 
the  controversy.  On  the  9th  of  June  following,  the 
agents  from  the  contending  States  reported  to  Con 
gress  that  they  had  agreed  upon  three  persons,  whom 
they  named,  as  Judges  of  the  federal  Court,  instead 
of  three  of  those  who  had  been  appointed  the  prece 
ding  December,  but  had  declined  accepting  their  ap 
pointment  :  and  the  agents  requested  that  a  commis 
sion  might  be  issued  to  the  Court,  as  finally  constituted 
to  meet  at  Williamsburg,  in  Virginia,  on  the  third 
Tuesday  of  November,  then  next,  to  hear  and  deter 
mine  the  controversy. 

On  the  second  of  November,  of  the  same  year,  a 
representation  was  made  by  the  agents  of  the  two 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  227 

States  to  Congress,  that  such  had  been  the  difficulties 
and  delays  in  obtaining  answers  from  several  of  the 
Judges,  that  the  parties  were  left  in  suspense  even  to 
that  hour  ;  a  hearing  had  thus  been  prevented,  and 
further  procrastination  was  unavoidable.  They  peti 
tioned,  therefore,  that  the  hearing  should  be  remitted 
to  such  a  day  as  the  parties  should  agree  upon,  and 
thereafter  certify  to  Congress — and  a  Resolution  pass 
ed  accordingly. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  May,  1786,  a  letter  was  receiv 
ed  by  Congress  from  Mr.  Monroe,  informing  them 
that  some  circumstances  would  put  it  out  of  his  power 
to  act  as  a  Judge  for  the  decision  of  this  controversy, 
and  resigning  his  commission. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  September  following, 
Congress  were  informed  by  the  agents  of  the  parties, 
that  they  had  agreed  upon  a  person  to  be  a  Judge,  in 
the  place  of  Mr.  Monroe,  and  they  requested  that  a 
new  commission  might  be  issued  to  the  Court.  The 
Court  never  met,  for  on  the  sixteenth  of  December, 
1786,  the  litigating  parties,  by  their  respective  agents 
at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  settled  the  controversy 
by  agreement,  between  themselves,  and  to  their  mu 
tual  satisfaction.  Of  this  the  agents  gave  notice  to 
Congress  on  the  eighth  of  October.  1787,  and  they 
moved  that  the  attested  copy  of  the  agreement  be 
tween  the  two  States,  which  they  laid  before  Con 
gress,  should  be  filed  in  the  Secretary's  office — which 
was  refused  ;  that  body  declining  even  to  keep  upon 
their  files  the  evidence  of  an  accord  between  two 
10* 


228  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

members  of  the  Union,  concluded  otherwise  than  as 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  had  prescribed. 

Mr.  Monroe  did  not  assign,  in  his  letter  to  Congress, 
his  reasons  for  resigning  the  trust  which  he  had  pre 
viously  consented  to  assume.  They  were  probably 
motives  of  delicacy,  highly  creditable  to  his  charac 
ter  :  motives,  flowing  from  a  source 

'*  Beyond  the  fix'd  and  settled  rules 
Of  vice  and  virtue  in  the  schools  :  " 

motives,  eminating  from  a  deep  and  conscientious 
morality,  of  which  men  of  coarser  minds  are  denied 
the  perception,  and  which,  while  exerting  unresisted 
sway  over  the  conduct  actuated  by  them,  retire  into 
the  self-conviction  of  their  own  purity.  Between  the 
period  when  Mr.  Monroe  had  accepted,  and  that 
when  he  withdrew  from  the  office  of  a  Judge  between 
the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York,  discus 
sions  had  arisen  in  Congress,  relating  to  a  negotiation 
with  Spain,  in  the  progress  of  which,  varying  views 
of  public  policy  were  sharpened  and  stimulated  by 
varying  sectional  interests,  to  a  point  of  painful  col 
lision. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  general  peace  at  Paris, 
in  1783,  Spain,  then  a  feeble  and  superannuated  mon 
archy,  governed  by  corrupt,  profligate  and  perfidious 
councils,  possessed  with  other  colonies  of  stupendous 
territorial  extent,  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
both  the  shores  of  that  father  of  the  floods,  from  his 
first  entrance  into  this  continent,  to  a  considerable  ex- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  229 

tent  inland.  Above  the  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude, 
the  territorial  settlements  of  the  United  States  were 
spreading  in  their  incipient  but  gigantic  infancy,  along 
his  eastern  banks  and  on  both  shores  of  the  mighty 
rivers,  which  contribute  to  his  stream.  Spain,  by 
virtue  of  a  conventional,  long,  settled,  but  abusive 
principle  of  international  law,  disavowed  by  the  law 
of  nature,  interdicted  the  downward  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  to  the  borders  upon  the  shores  above  her 
line  ;  on  the  bare  plea  that  both  sides  of  the  river 
were  within  her  domain  at  the  mouth.  And  well 
knowing  that  the  navigation  was  equivalent  almost  to 
a  necessary  of  life  to  the  American  settlers  above, 
she  formed  the  project  at  once  of  dallying  negotiation 
with  the  new  American  Republic,  to  purchase  by 
some  commercial  privilege,  her  assent  to  a  temporary 
exclusion  from  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of 
tampering  with  the  same  American  settlers,  to  seduce 
them  from  their  allegiance  to  their  own  country,  by 
the  prospect  of  enjoying  under  her  dominion  as  Span 
ish  subjects,  the  navigation  of  the  river,  from  which 
they  were  excluded  as  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  collision  between  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  of  right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi  by  the  laws 
of  nature,  and  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain, 
and*  the  actual  interdiction  of  that  navigation  by 
Spain,  founded  upon  the  usages  of  nations,  ho-stilities 
between  the  two  nations  had  already  taken  place.  A 
citizen  of  the  United  States  descending  the  Mississippi, 
had  been  seized  and  imprisoned  at  Natchez  ;  and  a 


230  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

retalitory  seizure  of  the  Spanish  post  at  Vincennes 
had  been  effected  by  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
According  to  all  appearances,  an  immediate  war  with 
Spain,  for  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  or  a  com 
promise  of  the  question  by  negotiation,  was  the  only 
alternative  which  Congress  had  before  them,  and  here 
again  appeared  a  melancholy  manifestation  of  the 
imbecility  of  the  Union  under  the  Articles  of  Confed 
eration. 

A  diplomatic  agent  of  the  lowest  order,  under  the 
title  of  Encargardo  de  Negocios,  had  been  appointed 
by  the  king  of  Spain  to  reside  in  the  United  States, 
and  had  been  with  much  formality  received  by  Con 
gress,  in  July,  1785.  Though  possessed  of  full  pow 
ers  to  conclude  a  treaty,  he  had  not  the  rank  of  a 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  and  his  title,  otherwise  un 
exampled  in  European  diplomacy,  was  significant  of 
the  estimation  in  which  his  Catholic  Majesty  held  the 
new  American  Republic.  Immediately  after  his  re 
ception,  the  Secretary  of  Congress  for  Foreign  Af 
fairs,  John  Jay,  of  New  York,  was  commissioned  to 
negotiate  with  the  Spanish  Encargardo ;  but  instruct 
ed,  previously  to  his  making  propositions  to  the  Span 
iard,  or  agreeing  with  him  on  any  article,  compact  or 
convention,  to  communicate  the  same  to  Congress. 
On  the  25th  of  August  ensuing,  this  instruction  was 
repealed,  and  another  substituted  in  its  place,  directing 
him  in  his  plan  of  treaty,  particularly  to  stipulate  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  their  territorial  bounds 
and  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  231 

source  to  the  ocean,  as  established  in  their  treaties 
with  Great  Britain  ;  and  to  conclude  no  treaty,  com 
pact  or  convention  with  Mr.  Gardoqui,  without  pre 
viously  communicating  it  to  Congress,  and  receiving 
their  approbation. 

The  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  soon  proved  an 
insurmountable  bar  to  the  progress  of  the  negotiation. 
It  was,  de  facto,  interdicted  by  Spain.  The  right  to 
it  could  be  enforced  only  by  war,  and  violence  on 
both  sides  had  already  taken  place.  Spain  denied  the 
right  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  navigate 
the  Mississippi  as  pertinaciously  and  in  as  lofty  a  tone 
as  Great  Britain  denies  to  us,  on  the  same  pretence, 
to  this  day,  the  right  of  navigating  the  St.  Lawrence. 
After  many  ineffectual  conferences  with  the  Spanish 
negotiator,  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  request 
ed  further  instructions  from  Congress,  and  in  a  per 
sonal  address  to  that  body,  recommended  to  them  a 
compromise  with  Spain,  by  the  proposal  of  a  com 
mercial  treaty  in  which  for  an  adequate  equivalent  of 
commercial  advantages  to  the  United  States,  they, 
without  renouncing  the  right  to  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  should  stipulate  a  forbearance  of  the  exer 
cise  of  that  right  for  a  term  of  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years,  to  which  the  duration  of  the  treaty  should  be 
limited. 

This  proposal  excited  the  most  acrimonious  and 
irritated  struggle  between  the  delegations  from  the 
Northern  and  Southern  divisions  of  the  Union,  which 
had  ever  occurred.  The  representation  from  the 


232  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

seven  Northern  States,  unanimously  agreeing  to  au 
thorize  the  stipulation  recommended  by  the  Secre 
tary,  and  the  five  Southern  States,  with  the  exception 
of  one  member,  being  equally  earnest  for  rejecting  it. 
The  State  of  Delaware  was  not  then  represented. 
In  the  animated  and  passionate  debates,  on  a  series  of 
questions  originating  in  this  inauspicious  controversy, 
the  delegates  from  Massachusetts,  and  among  them 
especially  Rufus  King,  took  a  warm  and  distinguished 
part  in  favor  of  the  proposition  of  the  Secretary, 
while  the  opposition  to  it  was  maintained  with  an  ear 
nestness  equally  intense,  and  with  ability  not  less 
powerful  by  the  delegation  from  Virginia,  and  among 
them,  pre-eminently,  by  Mr.  Monroe.  In  reviewing 
at  this  distance  of  time  the  whole  subject,  a  candid 
and  impartial  observer  cannot  fail  to  perceive  that 
much  of  the  bitterness  which  mingled  itself  unavoid 
ably  in  the  contest,  arose  from  the  nature  of  the  Con 
federacy,  and  the  predominant  obligation  under  which 
each  delegate  felt  himself  to  maintain  the  interests  of 
his  own  State  and  section  of  the  Union.  The  adverse 
interests  and  opposite  views  of  policy  brought  into 
conflict  by  these  transactions,  produced  a  coldness 
and  mutual  alieniation  between  the  Northern  and 
Southern  divisions  of  the  Union,  which  is  not  extin 
guished  to  this  day.  It  gave  rise  to  rankling  jealousies 
and  festering  prejudices,  not  only  of  the  North  and 
South  against  each  other,  but  of  each  section  against 
the  ablest  and  most  virtuous  patriots  of  the  other. 
As  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  no  treaty  could 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  233 

be  concluded  but  with  the  concurrence  of  nine  States, 
the  authority  to  make  the  proposal  recommended  by 
the  Secretary  was  not  given.  The  negotiation  with 
Spain  was  transferred  to  the  Government  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  as  organized  by  the  present  National  Con 
stitution.  The  right  of  navigating  the  Mississippi 
from  its  source  to  the  ocean,  with  a  deposit  at  New 
Orleans,  was  within  seven  years  thereafter,  conceded 
to  the  United  States  by  Spain,  in  a  solemn  treaty,  and 
within  twenty  years  from  the  negotiation  with  the 
Encargardo,  the  Mississippi  himself  with  all  his  waters 
and  all  his  shores,  had  passed  from  the  dominion  of 
Spain,  and  become  part  of  the  United  States. 

In  all  the  proceedings  relating  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi,  from  the  reception  of  Mr.  Gardoqui, 
till  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  and  its  annexation  to 
the  United  States,  the  agency  of  Mr.  Monroe  was 
conspicuous  above  all  others.  He  took  the  lead  in 
the  opposition  to  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Jay. 
He  signed,  in  conjunction  with  another  eminent  citi 
zen  of  the  State  of  New  York,  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
the  Treaty  which  gave  us  Louisiana  :  arid  during  his 
administration,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
cession  of  the  Floridas  was  consummated.  His  sys 
tem  of  policy,  relating  to  this  great  interest,  was  ulti 
mately  crowned  with  complete  success.  That  which 
he  opposed,  might  have  severed  or  dismembered  the 
Union.  Far  be  it  from  me  ;  far,  I  know,  would  it  be 
from  the  heart  of  Mr.  Monroe  himself,  to  speak  it,  in 
censure  of  those  illustrious  statesmen,  who,  in  the 


234  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

infancy  of  the  nation,  and  in  the  helplessness  of  the 
Confederation,  preferred  a  temporary  forbearance  of 
a  merely  potential  and  interdicted  right,  to  the  ap 
parent  and  imminent  prospect  of  unavoidable  war. 
Let  those  who  would  censure  them  look  to  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  times,  and  to  the  honest  partialities 
of  their  own  bosoms,  and  then  extend  to  the  memory 
of  those  deceased  benefactors  of  their  country  that 
candor,  in  the  construction  of  conduct  and  imputation 
of  motives,  which  they  will  hereafter  assuredly  need 
themselves. 

It  was  in  the  heat  of  the  temper,  kindled  by  this 
cause  of  discord,  in  the  federal  councils,  that  Mr. 
Monroe  resigned  his  commission  as  a  judge  between 
the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  New  York.  The 
opinions  of  both  those  States,  indeed  coincided  togeth 
er,  in  variance  from  that  which  he  entertained  upon 
the  absorbing  interest  of  the  right  to  navigate  the 
Mississippi.  But  he  beheld  their  countenance — "  that 
it  was  not  toward  him  as  before."  He  felt  there  was 
no  longer  the  same  confidence  in  the  dispositions  of 
North  and  South  to  each  other,  which  had  existed 
when  the  selection  of  him  had  been  made  ;  and  he 
withdrew  from  the  invidious  duty  of  deciding  be 
tween  parties,  with  either  of  whom  he  no  longer  en 
joyed  the  satisfaction  of  a  cordial  harmony. 

By  the  Articles  of  Confederation  no  delegate  in 
Congress  was  eligible  to  serve  more  than  three  years 
in  six.  Towards  the  close  of  1786,  the  term  of  Mr. 
Monroe's  service  in  that  capacity  expired.  During 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  235 

that  term,  arid  while  Congress  were  in  session  at  New 
York,  he  formed  a  matrimonial  connexion  with  Miss 
Kortright,  daughter  of  Mr.  L.  Kortright  of  an  an 
cient  and  respectable  family  of  that  state.  This  lady, 
of  whose  personal  attractions  and  accomplishments  it 
were  impossible  to  speak  in  terms  of  exaggeration, 
was,  for  a  period  little  short  of  half  a  century,  the 
cherished  and  affectionate  partner  of  his  life  and  for 
tunes.  She  accompanied  him  in  all  his  journeyings 
through  this  world  of  care,  from  which,  by  the  dis 
pensation  of  Providence-,  she  had  been  removed  on 
ly  a  few  months  before  himself.  The  companion  of 
his  youth  was  the  solace  of  his  declining  years,  and 
to  the  close  of  life  enjoyed  the  testimonial  of  his  af 
fection,  that  with  the  external  beauty  and  elegance  of 
deportment,  conspicuous  to  all  who  were  honored 
with  her  acquaintance,  she  united  the  more  precious 
and  endearing  qualities  which  mark  the  fulfilment  of 
all  the  social  duties,  and  adorn  with  grace,  and  fill 
with  enjoyment,  the  tender  relations  of  domestic 
life. 

After  his  retirement  from  service  in  the  Confedera 
tion  Congress,  assuming,  with  a  view  to  practice  at 
the  bar,  a  temporary  residence  at  Fredericksburgh, 
he  was  almost  immediately  elected  to  a  seat  in  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia  ;  and  the  ensuing  year,  to  the 
Convention,  summoned  in  that  Commonwealth,  to 
discuss  and  decide  upon  the  Constitution  of  the  Uni 
ted  States. 

Mr.  Monroe  was  deeply  penetrated  with  the  con- 


236  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

viction  that  a  great  and  radical  change,  in  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  was  indispensable,  even  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union.  But,  in  common  with 
Patrick  Henry,  George  Mason,  and  many  other  patri 
archs  of  the  Revolution,  his  mind  was  not  altogether 
prepared  for  that  which  was,  in  truth,  a  revolution 
far  greater  than  the  severance  of  the  United  Ameri 
can  Colonies  from  Great  Britain  :  a  revolution  accom 
plishing  that  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
had  only  conceived  and  proclaimed  :  substituting  a 
Constitution  of  Government  for  a  people,  instead  of  a 
mere  Confederation  of  States.  So  great  and  momen 
tous  was  this  change,  so  powerful  the  mass  of  patriot 
ism  and  wisdom,  as  well  as  of  interest,  prejudice  and 
passion,  arrayed  against  it,  that  we  should  hazard  lit 
tle,  in  considering  the  final  adoption  and  establishment 
of  the  Constitution,  as  the  greatest  triumph  of  pure 
and  peaceful  intellect,  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the 
human  race.  By  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
the  people  of  the  United  States  had  assumed  and  an 
nounced  to  the  world  their  united  personality  as  a  Na 
tion,  consisting  of  thirteen  Independent  States.  They 
had  thereby  assumed  the  exercise  of  primitive  sover 
eign  power  :  that  is  to  say,  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people.  The  administrative  power  of  such  a  people, 
could,  however,  be  exercised  only  by  delegation. 

Their  first  attempt  was  to  exercise  it  by  confining 
the  powers  of  government  to  the  separate  members  of 
the  Union,  and  delegating  only  the  powers  of  a  con 
federacy  to  the  collective  body.  This  experiment 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  237 

was  deliberately  and  thoroughly  made  and  totally  fail 
ed.  In  other  ages  and  other  climes  the  consequences 
of  that  failure  would  have  been  anarchy  :  complicated 
and  long  continued  wars  :  perhaps,  ultimately,  one 
consolidated  military  monarchy — elective  or  heredita 
ry  :  perhaps  two  or  three  confederacies — always  mil 
itant  ;  with  border  wars,  occasionally  intermitted, 
with  barrier  treaties,  impregnable  fortresses,  rivers 
hermetically  sealed,  and  the  close  sea  of  a  Pacific 
Ocean.  One  Standing  Army  would  have  bred  its  an 
tagonist,  and  between  them  they  would  have  engen 
dered  a  third,  to  sit  like  chaos  at  the  gates  of  Hell, 

"  Umpire  of  the  strife, 
And,  by  decision,  more  embroil  the  fray." 

Not  so  did  the  people  of  the  North  American  Union. 
They  adhered  to  their  first  experiment  of  Confedera 
cy,  till  it  was  falling  to  pieces,  in  its  immedicable  weak 
ness.  After  frequent,  long  and  patient  ineffectual 
struggles  to  sustain  and  strengthen  it,  a  small  and  se 
lect  body  of  them,  by  authority  of  a  few  of  the  State 
Legislatures,  convened  together  to  confer  upon  the 
evils  which  the  country  was  suffering,  and  to  consult 
upon  the  remedy  to  be  proposed.  This  body  advised 
the  Assembly  of  a  Convention,  in  which  all  the  States 
should  be  represented.  Eleven  of  them  did  so  as 
semble,  with  Washington  at  their  head  ;  with  Frank 
lin,  Madison,  Hamilton,  King,  Langdon,  Sherman, 
John  Rutledge,  and  compeers  of  fame,  scarcely  less 
resplendent,  for  members.  They  immediately  per- 


238  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

ceived  that  the  Union,  and  a  mere  Confederacy,  were 
f  incompatible  things.  They  proposed,  prepared  and 
j  presented,  for  acceptance,  a  Constitution  of  Govern- 
(  ment  for  the  whole  people  :  a  plan,  retaining  so  much 
of  the  federative  character,  as  to  preserve,  unimpair 
ed,  the  independent  and  wholesome  action  of  the  sep 
arate  State  Governments ;  and  infusing  into  the  whole 
body  the  vital  energy  necessary  for  free  and  efficient 
action  upon  all  subjects  of  common  interest  and  na 
tional  concernment.  This  plan  was  then  submitted  to 
the  examination,  scrutiny  and  final  judgment  of  the 
people,  assembled  by  Representative  Conventions,  in 
every  State  of  the  Confederacy.  To  the  small  portion 
of  my  auditory,  whose  memory  can  retrace  the  path 
of  time  back  to  that  eventful  period,  I  appeal  for  the 
firm  belief  that,  when  that  plan  was  first  exhibited  to 
the  solemn  consideration  of  the  people,  though  presen 
ted  by  a  body  of  men,  enjoying  a  mass  of  public  con 
fidence  far  greater  than  any  other,  of  equal  numbers, 
then  living,  could  have  possessed,  it  was  yet,  by  a  con 
siderable,  not  to  say  a  large  numerical  majority,  of 
the  whole  people,  sincerely,  honestly  and  heartily  dis 
approved.  It  was  disapproved,  not  only  by  all  those 
who  perseveringly  adhered  to  the  rejection  of  it,  but 
by  great  numbers  of  those  who  reluctantly  voted  for 
accepting  it ;  considering  it  then  as  the  only  alterna 
tive  to  a  dissolution  of  the  union  :  and  of  those  who 
voted  for  it,  of  its  most  ardent  and  anxious  supporters, 
it  may,  with  equal  confidence  be  affirmed,  that  no  one 
ever  permitted  his  imagination  to  anticipate,  or  his 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  239 

hopes  to  conceive  the  extent  of  the  contrast  in  the 
condition  of  the  North  American  people  under  that 
new  social  compact,  with  what  it  had  been  under  the 
Confederation  which  it  was  to  supersede. 

It  was,  doubtless,  among  the  dispensations  of  a  wise 
and  beneficent  Providence,  that  the  severe  and  perti 
nacious  investigation  of  this  Constitution,  as  a  whole, 
and  in  all  its  minutest  parts,  by  the  Convention  of  all 
the  States,  and  in  the  admirable  papers  of  the  Feder 
alist,  should  precede  its  adoption  and  establishment. 
It  may  be  truly  said  to  have  passed  through  an  ordeal 
of  more  than  burning  ploughshares.  Never,  in  the 
action  of  a  whole  people,  was  obtained  so  signal  a  tri 
umph  of  cool  and  deliberate  judgment,  over  ardent 
feeling,  and  honest  prejudices  :  and  never  was  a  peo 
ple  more  signally  rewarded  for  so  splendid  an  exam 
ple  of  popular  self-control. 

That  Mr.  Monroe,  then,  was  one  of  those  enlight 
ened,  faithful  and  virtuous  patriots,  who  opposed  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution,  can  no  more  detract  from 
the  eminence  of  his  talents,  or  the  soundness  of  his 
principles,  than  the  project  for  the  temporary  aban 
donment  of  the  right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  can 
impair  those  of  the  eminent  citizens  of  New  York 
and  Massachusetts,  by  whom  that  measure  was  pro 
posed.  During  a  Statesman's  life,  an  estimate  of  his 
motives  will  necessarily  mingle  itself  with  every 
judgment  upon  his  conduct,  and  that  judgment  will 
often  be  swayed  more  by  the  concurring  or  adverse 
passions  of  the  observer,  than  by  reason,  or  even  by 


240  LIFE     OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

the  merits  of  the  cause.  Candor,  in  the  estimate  of 
motives,  is  rarely  the  virtue  of  an  adversary  ;  but  it 
is  an  indispensable  duty  before  the  definitive  tribunal 
of  posthumous  renown. 

When  in  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  the  question 
was  discussed  of  the  propriety  of  calling  a  State  Con 
vention  to  decide  upon  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  Mr.  Monroe  took  no  part  in  the  debate.  He 
then  doubted  of  the  course  which  it  would  be  most 
advisable  to  pursue. — Whether  to  adopt  the  Constitu 
tion  in  the  hope  that  certain  amendments  which  he 
deemed  necessary,  would  afterwards  be  obtained,  or 
to  suspend  the  decision  upon  the  Constiution  itself, 
until  those  amendments  should  have  been  secured. 
When  elected  to  the  Convention,  he  expressed  those 
doubts  to  his  constituents  assembled  at  the  polls  ;  but 
his  opinion  having  afterwards  and  before  the  meeting 
of  the  Convention,  settled  into  a  conviction,  that  the 
amendments  should  precede  the  acceptance  of  the 
Constitution,  he  addressed  to  his  constituents  a  letter, 
stating  his  objections  to  that  instrument,  which  letter 
was  imperfectly  printed,  and  copies  of  it  were  sent  by 
him  to  several  distinguished  characters,  among  whom 
were  General  Washington,  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  Mr. 
Madison,  who  viewed  it  with  liberality  and  candor. 

In  the  Convention,  Mr.  Monroe  took  part  in  the  de 
bate,  and  in  one  of  his  speeches  entered  fully  into  the 
merits  of  the  subject.  He  was  decidedly  for  a  change, 
and  a  very  important  one,  in  the  then  existing  sys 
tem  ;  but  the  Constitution  reported,  had  in  his  opinion 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  241 

defects  requiring  amendment,  which  should  be  made 
before  its  adoption. 

The  Convention,  however,  by  a  majority  of  less 
than  ten  votes  of  one  hundred  and  seventy,  resolved 
to  adopt  the  Constitution,  with  a  proposal  of  amend 
ments  to  be  engrafted  upon  it.  Such  too,  was  the 
definitive  conclusion  in  all  the  other  States,  although 
two  of  them  lingered  one  or  two  years  after  it  was  in 
full  operation  by  authority  of  all  the  rest,  before  their 
acquiescence  in  the  decision. 

By  the  course  which  Mr.  Monroe  had  pursued  on 
this  great  occasion,  although  it  left  him  for  a  short 
time  in  the  minority,  yet  he  lost  not  the  confidence 
either  of  the  people  or  of  the  Legislature  of  Virginia. 
At  the  organization  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  the  first  Senators  from  that  State,  were  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee  and  William  Grayson.  The  decease 
of  the  latter  in  December,  1789,  made  a  vacancy 
which  was  immediately  supplied  by  the  election  of 
Mr.  Monroe  ;  and  in  that  capacity  he  served  until 
May,  1794  when  he  was  appointed,  at  the  nomination 
of  President  Washington,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to 
the  Republic  of  France. 

The  two  great  parties  which  so  long  divided  the 
feelings  and  the  councils  of  our  common  country,  un 
der  the  denominations  of  Federal  and  anti-Federal, 
originated  with  the  Union. — The  Union  itself  had  been 
formed  by  the  impulse  of  an  attraction  irresistable  as 
the  adamant  of  the  magnet  and  scarcely  less  mystical. 
It  was  an  union  however  of  subject  colonies,  then 


i 


t 

242  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

'    *     *  V  *' 

making  no  claim "  or  pretension  to  sovereign  power.' 
But  from  the  hour  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  it  became  necessary  to  provide  for  the  perpe 
tuity  of  the  Union,  and  to  organize  the  administration 
of  its  affairs.  The  extent  of  power  to  be  conferred 
on  the  representative  body  of  the  Union,  became  from 
that  instant  an  object  of  primary  magnitude,  dividing 
opinions  and  feelings.  Union  was  desired  by  all — but 
many  were  averse  even  to  a  confederacy.  They 
would  have  had  a  league  or  alliance,  offensive  and  de 
fensive,  but  not  even  a  permanent  confederacy  or 
Congress.  It  was  the  party  which  anxiously  urged 
the  adoption  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  who 
thereby  acquired  the  appellation  of  Federalists,  as 
their  adversaries  were  known  by  the  name  of  Anti- 
Federalists.  To  show  the  influence  of  names  over 
things,  we  may  remark  that  when  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  was  debated,  it  formed  the  h'rst 
.great  and  direct  issue  between  the  parties,  which 
retained  their  names,  but  had  in  reality  completely 
changed  sides.  The  Federalists  of  the  Confederacy 
had  abandoned  that  sinking  ship.  They  might  then 
with  much  more  propriety  have  been  called  National 
ists.  The  real  Federalists  were  the  opposers  of  the 
Constitution  ;  for  they  adhered  to  the  principle,  and 
most  of  them  would  have  been  willing  to  amend  the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  This  incongruity  of  name 
shortly  afterwards  became  so  glaring,  that  the  Anti- 
Federalists  laid  theirs  aside,  and  assumed  the  name 
sometimes  of  Republicans  and  sometimes  of  Demo- 


LIFE    OF 

crats.      The  name  of 
denomination  of  a  party  of  the  United  States,  because 
it  implies  an  offensive  and  unjust  imputation  upon  their 
opponents,  as  if  they  were  not  also  Republicans.    The 
truth  is,  as  it  was  declared  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  all 
are,  and  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence  have 
been,  Republicans.     Speculative  opinions  in  favor  of 
a  more  energetic  government  on  one   side,  and  of  a 
broader  range  of  Democratic  rule  on  the  other,  have 
doubtless    been    entertained  by  individuals,   but  both 
parties  have  been  disposed  to  exercise  the  full  measure 
of  their  authority  when  in  power,  and  both  have  been 
equally  refractory  to  the  mandates  of  authority  when 
out.     In  the  primitive  principles  of  the  parties,   the 
Federalists  were  disposed  to  consider  the  first  princi 
ple  of  Society  to  be  the  preservation  of  order ;  while  ' 
their  opponents  viewed  the  benefit  above  all  others  in 
the  enjoyment  of  liberty.     The  first  explosion  of-  the 
French   Revolution,  was    cotemporaneous  with    the- 
first   organization   of  the  government  of  the   United 
States  ;  and  France  and  Great  Britain  shortly  after 
wards  involved  in  a  war  of  unparalleled  violence  and 
fury.     It  was  a  war  of  opinions  ;    in  which   France 
assumed  the  attitude  of  champion  for  freedom,  and 
Britain  that  of  social  order  throughout  the   civflized 
world.      While  under  these  pretences,  all  sense  of 
justice  was  banished  from   the   councils  and  conduct 
of  both  ;  and  both  gave  loose  to  the  frenzy  of  bound 
less  ambition,  rapacity  and  national  hatred  and  re 
venge.     The   foundations   of   the   great   deep   were 
11 


244  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

broken  up.  The  two  elementary  principles  of  human 
society  were  arrayed  in  conflict  with  each  other,  and 
not  yet,  not  at  this  hour  is  that  warfare  accomplished. 
Freedom  and  order  were  also  the  elementary  princi 
ples  of  the  parties  in  the  American  Union,  and  as 
they  respectively  predominated,  each  party  sympa 
thized  with  one  or  the  other  of  the  great  European 
combatants.  And  thus  the  party  movements  in  our 
own  country  became  complicated  with  the  sweeping 
hurricane  of  European  politics  and  wars.  The  divis 
ion  was  deeply  seated  in  the  cabinet  of  Washington. — 
It  separated  his  two  principal  -advisers,  and  he  en 
deavored  without  success,  to  hold  an  even  balance 
between  them.  It  pervaded  the  councils  of  the 
Union,  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  the  Legislatures 
of  the  States,  and  the  people  throughout  the  land. 
The  first  partialities  of  the  nation  were  in  favor  of 
France ;  prompted  both  by  the  remembrances  of  the 
recent  war  for  American  Independence,  and  by  the 
impression  then  almost  universal,  that  her  cause  was 
identified  with  that  which  had  so  lately  been  our  own. 
But  when  Revolutionary  France  became  one  great 
army  ;  when  the  first  commentary  upon  her  procla 
mations  of  freedom,  and  her  disclaimer  of  conquest, 
was  the  annexation  of  Belgium  to  her  territories  ; 
when  the  blood  of  her  fallen  monarch  was  but  a  drop 
of  the  fountains  that  spouted  from  her  scaffolds  ;  when 
the  goddess  of  liberty,  in  her  solemn  processions,  was 
a  prostitute  ;  when  open  atheism  was  avowed  and 
argued  in  her  hall  of  legislation,  and  the  existence  of 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  245 

an  Omnipotent  God  was  among  the  DECREES  of  her 
National  Convention,  then  horror  and  disgust  took 
the  place  of  admiration  and  hope  in  the  minds  of  the 
American  Federalists.  Then  France  became  to  them 
an  object  of  terror  and  dismay,  and  Britain,  as  her 
great  and  steadfast  antagonist,  the  solitary  anchor  of 
their  hope — the  venerated  bulwark  of  their  religion. 

At  the  threshold  of  the  war,  Washington,  not  with 
out  a  sharp  and  portentous  struggle  in  his  cabinet, 
followed  by  sympathetic  and  convulsive  throes, 
throughout  the  Union,  issued  a  Proclamation  of  neu 
trality.  Neutrality  was  the  policy  of  his  administra 
tion,  but  neutrality  was  not  in  the  heart  of  any  por 
tion  of  the  American  people.  They  had  taken  their 
sides,  and  the  Republicans  and  the  Federalists  had 
now  become,  each  at  least  in  the  view  of  the  other,  a 
French  and  a  British  faction. 

Nor  was  the  neutrality  of  Washington  more  re 
spected  by  the  combatants  in  Europe,  than  it  was  con 
genial  to  the  feelings  of  his  countrymen.  The  cham 
pion  of  freedom  and  the  champion  of  order  were  alike 
regardless  of  the  rights  of  others.  They  trampled 
upon  all  neutrality  from  the  outset.  The  press-gang, 
the  rule  of  war  of  1756,  and  the  order  in  council, 
combined  to  sweep  all  neutral  commerce  from  the 
ocean.  The  requisition,  the  embargo,  and  the  maxi 
mum  left  scarcely  a  tatter  of  unplundered  neutral 
property  in  France.  Britain,  without  a  blush,  inter 
dicted  all  neutral  commerce  with  her  enemy.  France, 
under  the  dove-like  banners  of  fraternity,  sent  an 


246  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

envoy  to  Washington,  with  the  fraternal  kiss  upon 
his  lips,  and  the  piratical  commission  in  his  sleeve  ; 
with  the  pectoral  of  righteousness  on  his  breast,  and 
the  trumpet  of  sedition  in  his  mouth.  Within  one 
year  from  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities  between  Bri 
tain  and  France,  the  outrages  of  both  parties  upon 
the  peaceful  citizens  of  this  Union,  were  such  as  would 
have  amply  justified  war  against  either,  and  left  to 
the  government  of  Washington  no  alternative,  but 
that  or  reparation.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
war,  the  United  States  were  represented  in  France 
and  England  by  two  of  their  most  distinguished  citi 
zens,  both,  though  in  different  shades,  of  the  Federal 
school ;  by  Thomas  Pinckney  at  London,  and  by 
Governeur  Morris  in  France.  The  remonstrance  of 
Mr.  Pinckney  against  the  frantic  and  reckless  injustice 
of  the  British  government,  were  faithful,  earnest  and 
indefatigable  ;  but  they  were  totally  disregarded.  Mr. 
Morris  had  given  irremissible  offence  to  all  the  revo 
lutionary  parties  in  France,  and  his  recall  had  been 
formally  demanded.  From  a  variety  of  causes,  the 
popular  resentments  in  America  ran  with  a  much  stron 
ger  current  against  Britain  than  against  France,  and 
movements  tending  directly  to  war,  were  in  quick 
succession  following  each  other  in  Congress.  Wash 
ington  arrested  them  by  the  institution  of  a  special 
mission  to  Great  Britain.  To  give  it  at  once  a  con 
ciliatory  character,  and  to  impress  upon  the  British 
government  a  due  sense  of  its  importance,  the  person 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  247 

selected  for  this  mission  was  John  Jay,  then  Chief  Jus 
tice  of  the  United  States. 

James  Monroe  was  shortly  afterwards  appointed 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Republic  of  France. 
In  the  selection  of  him,  the  same  principle  of  concilia 
tion  to  the  government  near  which  he  was  accredited 
had  been  observed.  But  Washington  was  actuated 
also  by  a  further  motive  of  holding  the  balance  be 
tween  the  parties  at  home  by  this  appointment.  Mr. 
Jay  was  of  the  Federal  party,  with  a  bias  of  inclina 
tion  favorable  to  Britain  ;  Mr.  Monroe,  of  the  party 
which  then  began  to  call  itself  the  Republican  party, 
inclining  to  favor  the  cause  of  Republican  France. 
This  party  was  then  in  ardent  opposition  to  the  gen 
eral  course  of  Washington's  administration — and  that 
of  Mr.  Monroe  in  the  Senate  had  not  been  inactive. 
To  conciliate  that  party  too,  was  an  object  of  Wash 
ington's  most  earnest  solicitude.  From  among  them 
he  determined  that  the  successor  of  Mr.  Morris,  in 
France,  should  be  chosen,  and  the  members  of  the 
Senate  of  that  party  were  by  him  informally  consul 
ted  to  designate  who  of  their  number  would,  by  re 
ceiving  the  appointment,  secure  for  it  their  most  cor 
dial  satisfaction.  Their  first  indication  was  of  anoth 
er  person.  Him,  Washington,  from  a  distrust  of  in 
dividual  character,  declined  to  appoint.  But  he  nomi 
nated  Mr.  Monroe,  and  the  concurrence  of  the  Sen 
ate  in  his  appointment  was  unanimous.  This  incident, 
hitherto  unknown  to  the  public,  has  been  followed  by 
many  consequences,  some  of  them  perhaps  little  sus- 


248  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE. 

pected,  in  our  history.  The  discrimination  of  charac 
ter  in  the  judgment  of  the  first  President  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  is  alike  creditable  to  him  and  Mr.  Monroe. 
It  was  not  without  hesitation  that  he  availed  himself 
of  the  preference  in  his  favor,  nor  without  the  entire 
approbation  of  the  party  with  whom  he  had  acted, 
including  even  the  individual  who  had  been  rejected 
by  the  prophetic  prepossession  of  Washington. 

The  cotemporaneous  missions  of  Mr.  Jay  to  Great 
Britain,  and  of  Mr.  Monroe  to  France,  are  among  the 
most  memorable  events  in  the  history  of  this  Union. 
There  are  in  the  annals  of  all  nations  occasions,  when 
wisdom  and  patriotism,  and  the  brightest  candor  and 
the  profoundest  sagacity,  are  alike  unavailing  for  suc 
cess.  There  are  sometimes  elements  of  discord,  in 
the  social  relations  of  men,  which  no  human  virtue  or 
skill  can  reconcile.  Mr.  Jay  and  Mr.  Monroe,  each 
within  his  own  sphere  of  action,  executed  with  equal 
ability  the  trust  committed  to  him,  in  the  spirit  of  his 
appointment  arid  of  his  instructions.  But  neutrality 
was  the  duty  and  inclination  of  the  American  ad 
ministration,  and  neutrality  was  what  neither  of  the 
great  European  combatants  might  endure.  In  the 
long  history  of  national  animosities  and  hatreds  be 
tween  the  French  and  British  nations,  there  never 
was  a  period  when  they  were  tinged  with  deeper  in 
fusions  of  the  wormwood  and  the  gall,  than  at  that 
precise  point  of  time. 

Each  of  the  parties  believed  herself  contending  for 
her  national  existence ;  each  proclaimed,  perhaps  be- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  249 

lieved,  herself  the  last  and  only  barrier,  Britain  against 
the  subversion  of  social  order,  France  against  the  sub 
version  of  freedom  throughout  the  world. 

Mr.  Jay,  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  commission,  con 
cluded  a  Treaty  with  Great  Britain,  which  established 
on  immovable  foundations,  the  neutrality  proclaimed 
by  Washington  ;  it  reserved  the  faithful  performance 
of  all  the  previous  engagements  of  the  United  States 
with  France  ;  some  of  which  were,  in  their  operation 
at  that  time,  not  consonant  with  entire  neutrality  : 
but,  in  return  for  great  concessions  on  the  British  side 
it  yielded  some  points,  also,  which  bore  as  little  the 
aspect  of  neutrality  in  their  operation  upon  France. 
Mr.  Monroe,  himself,  favored  the  cause  of  France. 
Both  Houses  of  Congress  had  passed  Resolutions, 
scarcely  consistent,  at  least,  with  impartiality,  and 
Washington,  under  advice,  perhaps  over-swayed  by 
the  current  of  popular  feeling,  afterwards  answered 
an  address  of  the  Minister  of  France,  in  words  of 
like  sympathy  with  her  cause.  Arriving  in  France, 
at  the  precise  moment  when  the  excesses  of  the  revo 
lutionary  parties  were  on  the  turning  spring  tide  of 
their  highest  flood,  Mr.  Monroe  was  received,  with 
splendid  formality,  in  the  bosom  of  the  National  Con 
vention,  when  not  another  civilized  nation  upon  earth, 
had  a  recognized  representative  in  France.  He  there 
declared,  in  perfect  consistency  with  his  instructions, 
the  fraternal  friendship  of  his  country  and  her  gov 
ernment,  for  the  French  people,  and  their  devoted  at 
tachment  to  her  cause,  as  the  cause  of  freedom.  The 


250  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

President  of  the  Convention  answered  him  in  lan 
guage  of  equal  kindness  and  cordiality  ;  though  even 
then  so  little  of  real  benevolence  towards  the  United 
States,  was  there  in  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety, 
then  the  executive  power  of  France,  that  it  was  to 
cut  short  their  protracted  deliberations,  whether  Mr. 
Monroe  should  be  received  at  all,  that  he  had  address 
ed  himself,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  for  an  answer  to 
that  inquiry  to  the  National  Convention  itself.  Strong 
expressions  of  kindness  are  the  ordinary  common 
places  of  the  diplomatic  intercourse  between  nations  ; 
and,  like  the  customary  civilities  of  epistolary  corres 
pondence  between  individuals,  they  are  never  under 
stood  according  to  the  full  import  of  their  meaning  ; 
but  extreme  jealousy  and  suspicion  at  that  time  perva 
ded  all  the  public  councils  of  France. 

She  professed  to  be  willing  that  the  United  States 
should  preserve  their  neutrality,  but  she  neither  re 
spected  it  herself  nor  acquiesced  in  the  measures 
which  it  dictated.  They  were  no  sooner  informed 
that  Mr.  Jay  had  signed  a  Treaty^vith  Lord  Grenville, 
than  they  began  to  press  Mr.  Monroe  with  importu 
nities  to  be  informed,  even  before  it  had  been  submit 
ted  to  the  American  Government,  of  all  its  con 
tents.  » 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  position  more  awkward  and  dis 
tressing,  than  that  of  being  compelled  to  reject  an  un 
reasonable  request  from  those  whose  friendship  it  is 
important  to  retain  ;  for  unreasonable  requests  are 
precisely  those  which  will  be  urged  with  the  greatest 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  251 

pertinacity.  To  enable  Mr.  Monroe  to  decline  indulg 
ing  the  Committee  with  a  copy  of  the  Treaty,  before 
it  was  ratified,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  declin 
ing  to  receive  a  confidential  communication  of  its 
contents  from  Mr.  Jay.  The  difficulties  of  his  situation 
became  much  greater  after  the  Treaty  had  been  rati 
fied,  and  was  made  public.  The  people  of  the  United 
States  were  so  equally  divided,  with  regard  to  the 
merits  of  the  Treaty,  that  it  became  the  principal  ob 
ject  of  contention  between  the  parties,  and  they  were 
bitterly  exasperated  against  each  other.  The  French 
Government,  which,  during  the  progress  of  these 
events,  had  passed  from  a  frantic  Committee  of  Pub 
lic  Safety,  to  a  profligate  Executive  Directory,  took 
advantage  of  these  dissensions  in  the  American  Union. 
They  suspended  the  operation  of  the  Treaties  existing 
between  the  United  States  and  France  ;  they  issued 
orders  for  capturing  all  American  vessels,  bound  to 
British  ports,  or  having  property  of  their  enemies  on 
board  ;  their  diplomatic  correspondence  exhibited  a 
series  of  measures,  alike  injurious  and  insulting  to  the 
American  Government ;  and  they  recalled  their  Min 
ister  from  the  United  States,  without  appointing  a 
successor.  It  was,  perhaps,  rather  the  misfortnne 
of  all,  than  the  fault  of  any  one,  that  the  views  of 
Mr.  Monroe,  with  regard  to  the  policy  of  the  Ameri 
can  Administration,  did  not  accord  with  those  of  Pres 
ident  Washington.  He  thought  that  France  had  just 
cause  of  complaint ;  and,  called  to  the  painful  and  in 
vidious  task  of  defending  and  justifying  that  which  he 


252  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

personally  disapproved,  although  he  never,  for  a  mo 
ment,  forgot  the  duties  of  his  station,  it  was,  perhaps, 
not  possible  that  he  should  perform  them  entirely  to 
the  satisfaction  of  his  Government.  He  was  recalled, 
towards  the  close  of  Washington's  administration,  and 
Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  was  appointed  in  his 
place. 

To  the  history  of  our  subsequent  controversies 
with  France,  until  the  peace  of  Amiens,  it  will  not 
be  necessary  for  me  to  advert.  Upon  Mr.  Monroe's 
return  to  the  United  States,  the  administration  had 
passed  from  the  hands  of  President  Washington,  into 
those  of  his  successor.  In  vindication  of  his  own 
character,  Mr.  Monroe  felt  himself  obliged  to  go  be 
fore  the  tribunal  of  the  public,  and  published  his 
"View  of  the  conduct  of  the  Executive  in  the  For 
eign  affairs  of  the  United  States,  connected  with  the 
mission  to  the  French  Republic,  during  the  years 
1794,  '95  and  '90. 

Upon  the  propriety  of  this  step,  as  well  as  with  re 
gard  to  the  execution  of  the  work,  opinions  were,  at 
the  time,  and  have  continued,  various.  The  policy 
of  Washington,  in  that  portentous  crisis  in  human  af 
fairs,  is,  in  the  main,  now  placed  beyond  the  reach  of 
criticism.  It  is  sanctioned  by  the  nearly  unanimous 
voice  of  posterity.  It  will  abide,  in  unfading  lustre, 
the  test  of  after  ages.  Nor  will  the  well-earned  fame 
of  Mr.  Monroe,  for  distinguished  ability,  or  pure  in 
tegrity,  suffer  from  the  part  which  he  acted  in  these 
transactions.  In  the  fervor  of  political  contentions, 


LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE.  253 

personal  animosities  belong  more  to  the  infirmities  of 
man's  nature  than  to  individual  wrong,  and  they  are 
unhappily  sharpened  in  proportion  to  the  sincerity 
with  which  conflicting  opinions  are  avowed.  It  is 
the  property  of  wise  and  honorable  minds,  to  lay 
aside  these  resentments,  and  the  prejudices  flowing 
from  them,  when  the  conflicts,  which  gave  rise  to 
them,  have  passed  away.  Thus  it  wras  that  the  great 
orator,  statesman,  and  moralist,  of  antiquity,  when 
reproached  for  reconciliation  with  a  bitter  antagonist, 
declared  that  he  wished  his  enemies  to  be  transient, 
and  his  friendships  immortal.  Thus  it  was,  that  the 
congenial  mind  of  James  Monroe,  at  the  zenith  of  his 
public  honors,  and  in  the  retirement  of  his  latest  days, 
cast  off,  like  the  suppuration  of  a  wound,  all  the  feel 
ings  of  unkindness,  and  all  the  severities  of  judgment, 
which  might  have  intruded  upon  his  better  nature,  in 
the  ardor  of  civil  dissension.  In  veneration  for  the 
character  of  Washington,  he  harmonized  with  the 
now  unanimous  voice  of  his  country  ;  and  he  has 
left  recorded,  with  his  own  hand,  a  warm  and  un 
qualified  testimonial  to  the  pure  patriotism,  the  pre 
eminent  ability  and  the  spotless  integrity  of  John 
Jay. 

That  neither  the  recall  of  Mr.  Monroe,  from  his 
mission  to  France,  nor  the  publication  of  his  volume, 
had  any  effect  to  weaken  the  confidence  reposed  in 
him  by  his  fellow  citizens,  was  manifested  by  his  im 
mediate  election  to  the  Legislature,  and  soon  after 
wards  to  the  office  of  Governor  of  Virginia,  in  which 


254  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

he  served  for  the  term,  limited  by  the  Constitution, 
of  three  years.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Directory  of 
France,  with  its  Council  of  Five  Hundred,  and  its 
Council  of  Elders,  had  been  made  to  vanish  from  the 
scene,  by  the  magic  talisman  of  a  soldier's  sword. 
The  Government  of  France,  in  point  of  form,  was 
administered  by  a  Triad  of  Consuls  :  in  point  of  fact, 
by  a  successful  warrior,  then  Consul  for  life  :  here 
ditary  Emperor  and  King  of  Italy  ;  with  a  forehead, 
burning  for  a  diadem  ;  a  soul  inflated  by  victory  ; 
and  an  imagination,  fired  with  visions  of  crowns  and 
sceptres,  in  prospect  before  him. — He  had  extorted, 
from  the  prostrate  imbecility  of  Spain,  the  province 
of  Louisiana,  and  compelled  her,  before  the  delivery 
of  the  territory  to  him,  to  revoke  the  solemnly  stipu 
lated  privilege,  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
of  a  deposit  at  New  Orleans.  A  military  colony  was 
to  be  settled  in  Louisiana,  and  the  materials,  for  an 
early  rupture  with  the  United  States,  were  industri 
ously  collected.  The  triumph  of  the  Republican  party, 
here,  had  been  marked  by  the  election  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  to  the  Presidency  :  just  before  which,  our 
previous  controversies  with  France  had  been  adjusted 
by  a  Treaty  of  Amity  and  Commerce,  and  shortly 
after  which,  a  suspension  of  arms,  between  France 
and  Britain,  had  been  concluded,  under  the  fallacious 
name  of  a  Peace  at  Amiens.  The  restless  spirit  of 
Napoleon,  inflamed,  at  the  age  of  most  active  energy 
in  human  life,  by  the  gain  of  fifty  battles,  dazzling 
with  a  splendor,  then  unrivalled  but  by  the  renown 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  255 

of  Caesar,  breathing,  for  a  moment,  in  the  midway 
path  of  his  career,  the  conqueror  of  Egypt,  the  victor 
of  Lodi,  and  of  Marengo,  the  trampler  upon  the  neck 
of  his  country,  her  people,  her  legislators,  and  her 
constitution,  was  about  to  bring  his  veteran  legions,  in 
formidable  proximity  to  this  Union.  The  transfer  of 
Louisiana  to  France,  the  projected  military  colony, 
and  the  occlusion,  at  that  precise  moment,  of  the  port 
of  New  Orleans,  operated  like  an  electric  shock,  in 
this  country.  The  pulse  of  the  West  beat,  instanta 
neously,  for  war  :  and  the  antagonists  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  in  Congress,  sounded  the  trumpet  of  vindication 
to  the  rights  of  the  nation ;  and,  as  they  perhaps 
flattered  themselves,  of  downfall  to  his  administra 
tion.  In  this  crisis,  Mr.  Jefferson,  following  the  ex 
ample  of  his  first  predecessor,  on  a  similar  occasion, 
instituted  a  special  and  extraordinary  mission  to 
France  ;  for  which,  in  the  name  of  his  country,  and 
of  the  highest  of  human  duties,  he  commanded,  rather 
than  invited,  the  services  and  self  devotion  of  Mr. 
Monroe.  Nor  did  he  hesitate  to  accept  the  perilous, 
and,  at  that  time,  most  unpromising  charge.  He  was 
joined,  in  the  Commission  Extraordinary,  with  Robert 
R.  Livingston,  then,  resident  Minister  Plenipotentiary, 
from  the  United  States,  in  France,  well  known  as  one 
of  the  most  eminent  leaders  of  our  Revolution.  Mr. 
Monroe's  appointment  was  made  on  the  eleventh  of 
January,  1803  ;  and,  as  Louisiana  was  still  in  the  pos 
session  of  Spain,  he  was  appointed  also,  jointly  with 
Charles  Pinckney,  then  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of 


256  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

the  United  States  at  Madrid,  to  an  Extraordinary 
Mission  to  negotiate,  if  necessary,  concerning  the 
same  interest  there.  The  intended  object  of  these 
negotiations  was  to  acquire,  by  purchase,  the  island 
of  New  Orleans,  and  the  Spanish  territory,  east  of 
the  Mississippi.  Mr.  Livingston  had,  many  months 
before,  presented  to  the  French  Government  a  very 
able  memorial,  showing,  by  conclusive  arguments, 
that  the  cession  of  the  Province  to  the  United  States, 
would  be  a  measure  of  wise  and  sound  policy,  condu 
cive  not  less  to  the  true  interests  of  France  than  to 
those  of  the  Federal  Union.  At  that  time,  however, 
the  memoir  was  too  widely  variant  from  the  wild  and 
gigantic  project  of  Napoleon. 

How  often  are  we  called,  in  this  world  of  vicissi 
tudes,  to  testify  that 

"  There's  a  Divinity,  who  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough  hew  them  how  we  will." 

When  Mr.  Monroe  arrived  in  France,  all  was 
changed  in  the  Councils  of  the  Tuileries.  The  vol 
canic  crater  was  re-blazing  to  the  skies.  The  war 
between  France  and  Britain  was  rekindling,  and  the 
article  of  most  immediate  urgency  to  the  necessities 
of  the  first  consul  was  money.  The  military  colony 
of  twenty  thousand  veterans  already  assembled  at 
Helovet-Sluys  to  embark  for  Louisiana,  received  an 
other  destination.  The  continent  of  America  was 
relieved  from  the  imminent  prospect  of  a  conflict  with 
the  modern  Alexander,  and  Mr.  Monroe  had  scarcely 


LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE.  257 

reached  Paris,  when  he  and  his  colleague  were  in 
formed  that  the  French  Government  had  resolved,  for 
an  adequate  compensation  in  money,  to  cede  to  the 
United  States  the  whole  of  Louisiana.  The  acquisi 
tion,  and  the  sum  demanded  for  it,  transcended  the 
powers  of  the  American  Plenipotentiaries,  and  the 
amount  of  the  funds  at  their  disposal ;  but  they  hesi 
tated  not  to  accept  the  offer.  The  negotiation  was 
concluded  in  a  fortnight.  The  ratification  of  the 
treaty,  with  those  of  a  convention  appropriating  part 
of  the  funds  created  by  it  to  the  adjustment  of  certain 
claims  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  upon  France, 
were  within  six  months  exchanged  at  Washington, 
and  the  majestic  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  became  integral  parts  of  the  North  American 
Union. 

From  France,  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of 
the  treaties,  Mr.  Monroe  proceeded  to  England, 
where  he  was  commissioned  as  the  successor  of  Rufus 
King  in  the  character  of  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of 
the  United  States.  Mr.  King  was,  at  his  own  re 
quest,  returning  to  his  own  country,  after  a  mission 
of  seven  years,  in  which  he  had  enjoyed  the  rare  ad 
vantage  of  giving  satisfaction  alike  to  his  own  gov 
ernment,  and  to  that  to  which  he  was  accredited. 
Mr.  Monroe  carried  with  him  the  same  dispositions, 
and  had  the  temper  of  the  British  government  contin 
ued  to  be  marked  with  the  same  good  humor  and 
moderation  which  had  prevailed  during  the  mission 


258  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

of  Mr.  King,  that  of  Mr.  Monroe  would  have  been 
equally  successful.  But  with  the  renewal  of  the  war 
revived  the  injustice  of  belligerent  pretensions,  fol 
lowed  by  the  violence  of  belligerent  outrages  upon 
neutrality.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  with 
Mr.  Jay,  and  especially  towards  the  close  of  the  pre 
ceding  war,  the  British  government  had  gradually 
abstained  from  the  exercise  of  those  outrages  which 
had  brought  them  to  the  verge  of  a  war  with  the 
United  States,  and  at  the  issue  of  a  correspondence 
with  Mr.  King,  had  disclaimed  the  right  of  inter 
ference  with  the  trade  between  neutral  ports  and  the 
colonies  of  her  enemies.  Just  before  the  departure 
of  Mr.  King,  a  convention  had  been  proposed  by  him 
in  which  Britain  abandoned  the  pretension  of  right  to 
impress  seamen,  which  failed  only  by  a  captious  ex 
ception  for  the  narrow  seas,  suggested  by  a  naval  of 
ficer,  then  at  the  head  of  the  admiralty.  But  after 
the  war  recommenced,  the  odious  pretensions  and  op 
pressive  practices  of  unlicensed  rapine  returned  in  its 
train.  In  the  midst  of  his  discussions  with  the  British 
government  on  these  topics,  Mr.  Monroe  was  called 
away  to  the  discharge  of  his  extraordinary  mission  to 
Spain. 

In  the  retrocession  of  Louisiana,  by  France  to 
Spain,  no  limits  of  the  province  had  been  defined.  It 
was  retroceded  with  a  reference  to  its  original  boun 
daries  as  possessed  by  France,  but  those  boundaries 
had  been  a  subject  of  altercation  between  France  and 
Spain,  from  the  time  when  Louis  the  14th  had  made 


LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE.  259 

a  grant  of  Louisiana  to  Crozat.  Napoleon  took  this 
retrocession  of  the  province,  well  aware  of  the  gor- 
dian  knot  with  which  it  was  bound,  and  fully  deter 
mined  to  sever  it  with  his  accustomed  solvent,  the 
sword.  His  own  cession  of  the  province  to  the  Uni 
ted  States,  however,  relieved  him  from  the  necessity 
of  resorting  to  this  expedient,  and  proportionably 
contracted  in  his  mind  the  dimensions  of  the  prov 
ince. — He  ceded  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  with 
out  waiting  for  the  delivery  of  possession  to  himself, 
and  used  with  regard  to  the  boundary  in  his  grant, 
the  very  words  of  the  conveyance  to  him  by  Spain. 
The  Spanish  Government  solemnly  protested  against 
the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  alleging 
that  in  the  very  treaty  by  which  France  had  reac- 
quired  the  province,  she  had  stipulated  never  to  cede 
it  away  from  herself.  Soon  admonished,  however, 
of  her  own  helpless  condition,  and  encouraged  to 
transfer  her  objections  from  the  cession  to  the  boun 
dary,  she  withdrew  her  protest  against  the  whole 
transaction,  and  took  ground  upon  the  disputed  extent 
of  the  province.  The  original  claim  of  France  had 
been  from  the  Perdido  East  to  the  Rio  Bravo  West 
of  the  Mississippi.  Mobile  had  been  originally  a 
French  settlement,  and  all  West  Florida,  was  as  dis 
tinctly  within  the  claim  of  France,  as  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  first  discovered  by  La  Salle.  Such 
was  the  understanding  of  the  American  Plenipoten 
tiaries,  and  of  Congress,  who  accordingly  authorized 
President  Jefferson  to  establish  a  collection  district  on 


260  LIFE  OF  JAMES  MONROE. 

the  shores,  waters  and  inlets  of  the  bay  and  river 
Mobile,  and  of  rivers  both  East  and  West  of  the  same. 
But  Spain  on  her  part  reduced  the  province  of  Louisi 
ana  to  little  more  than  the  Island  of  New  Orleans. 
She  assumed  an  attitude  menacing  immediate  war ; 
refused  to  ratify  a  convention  made  under  the  eye  of 
her  own  Government  at  Madrid,  for  indemnifying  cit 
izens  of  the  United  States,  plundered  under  her  au 
thority  during  the  preceding  war  ;  harassed  and  ran 
somed  the  citizens  of  the  Union  and  their  property  on 
the  waters  of  Mobile  ;  and  marched  military  forces 
to  the  borders  of  the  Sabine,  where  they  were  met 
by  troops  of  the  United  States,  with  whom  a  conflict 
was  spared  only  by  a  temporary  military  convention 
between  the  respective  commanders.  It  was  at  this 
emergency  that  Mr.  Monroe  proceeded  from  London 
to  Madrid  to  negotiate  together  with  Mr.  Pinckney, 
upon  this  boundary,  and  for  the  purchase  of  the  rem 
nant  of  Spain's  title  to  the  territory  of  Florida.  He 
passed  through  Paris  on  his  way,  precisely  at  the 
time  to  witness  the  venerable  Pontiff  of  the  Roman 
Church  invest  the  brows  of  Napoleon  with  the  here 
ditary  imperial  Crown  of  France,  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Notre  Dame.  While  in  Paris,  Mr.  Monroe  addressed 
to  the  then  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Talleyrand, 
a  letter  reminding  him  of  a  promise  somewhat  indefi 
nite,  at  the  time  of  the  cession  of  Louisiana,  that  the 
good  offices  of  France,  in  aid  of  a  negotiation  with 
Spain  for  the  acquisition  of  Florida  should  be  yielded: 
stating  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Madrid  to  enter 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  261 

upon  that  negotiation,  and  claiming  the  fulfilment  of 
that  promise  of  France.  He  also  presented  the  view 
taken  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  that 
the  limits  of  Louisiana  as  ceded  by  France  to  them 
extended  from  the  Perdido  to  the  Rio  Bravo. — This 
letter  was  promptly  answered  by  the  Minister  Talley 
rand,  with  an  earnest  argument  in  behalf  of  the 
Spanish  claim  of  boundary  Eastward  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  but  expressing  no  opinion  with  regard  to  her 
pretensions  Westward  of  that  river.  His  Imperial 
Majesty  had  discovered,  not  only  that  West  Florida 
formed  no  part  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  ;  but 
that  he  never  had  entertained  such  an  idea,  nor  imag 
ined  that  a  retrocession  of  the  province  as  it  had  been 
possessed  by  France,  could  include  the  District  of 
Mobile.  This  argument  was  pressed  with  so  much 
apparent  candor  and  sincerity,  that  it  may  give  inter 
est  to  the  anecdote  which  I  am  about  to  relate  as  a 
commentary  upon  it.  It  happened  that  a  member  of 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  was  at  New  Orleans, 
when  the  Commissioner  of  Napoleon  authorized  to 
receive  possession  of  the  province  arrived  there,  and 
before  the  cession  to  the  United  States.  This  Com 
missioner  in  conversation  with  the  American  Senator, 
told  him  that  the  military  colony  from  France  might 
be  soon  expected.  That  there  was  perpaps  some  dif 
ference  of  opinion  between  the  French  and  Spanish 
governments  as  to  the  boundary  ;  but  that  when  the 
colony  arrived,  his  orders  were  quietly  to  take  pos 
session  to  the  Perdido  and  leave  the  diversities  of 


262  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE. 

opinion  to  be  afterwards  disscussed  in  the  Cabinet. 
This  anecdote  was  related  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  by  the  member  of  that  body 
who  had  been  a  party  to  the  conversation. 

But  with  this  forgetful  change  of  opinion  in  the  new 
crowned  head  of  the  Imperial  Republic,  there  was 
little  prospect  of  success  for  the  mission  of  Mr.  Mon 
roe  at  Madrid  ;  to  which  place  he  proceeded.  There 
in  the  space  of  five  months,  together  with  his  col 
league  Charles  Pinckncy,  he  unfolded  the  principles, 
and  discussed  the  justice  of  his  country's  claim,  in  cor 
respondence  and  conferences  with  the  Prince  of  the 
Peace,  and  Don  Pedro  Cevallos,  with  great  ability, 
but  without  immediate  effect.  The  questions  which 
Napoleon  would  have  settled  by  the  march  of  a  de 
tachment  from  his  military  colony,  was  to  abide  their 
issue  by  the  more  lingering,  and  more  deliberate 
march  of  time.  The  state  papers  which  passed  at 
that  stage  of  the  great  controversy  with  Spain,  re 
mained  many  years  buried  in  the  archives  of  the  gov 
ernments  respectively  parties  to  it.  They  have  since 
been  published  at  Washington  ;  but  so  little  of  attrac 
tion  have  diplomatic  documents  of  antiquated  date, 
even  to  the  wakeful  lovers  of  reading,  that  in  this  en 
lightened  auditory  how  many — might  I  not  with  more 
propriety  inquire  how  few  there  are,  by  whom  they 
have  ever  been  perused  1  It  is  nevertheless  due  to  the 
memory  of  Mr.  Monroe  and  of  his  colleague  to  say 
that  among  the  creditable  state  papers  of  this  nation 
they  will  rank  in  the  highest  order  : — that  they  de- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  263 

serve  the  close  and  scrutinizing  attention  of  every 
American  statesman,  and  will  remain  solid,  however 
unornamented,  monuments  of  intellectual  power  ap 
plied  to  national  claims  of  right,  in  the  land  of  our 
fathers  and  the  age  which  has  now  passed  away. 

In  June,  1805,  Mr.  Monroe  returned  to  his  post  at 
London,  where  new  and  yet  more  arduous  labors 
awaited  him.  A  new  ministry,  at  the  head  of  which 
Mr.  Pitt  returned  to  power,  had  succeeded  the  mild 
but  feeble  administration  of  Mr.  Addington,  and  Lord 
Mulgrave  as  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  had  taken 
the  place  of  the  Earl  of  Harrowby.  The  war  be 
tween  French  and  British  ambition  was  spreading  over 
Europe,  and  Napoleon,  by  threats  and  preparations, 
and  demonstrations  of  a  purposed  invasion  of  Great 
Britain,  had  aroused  the  spirit  of  that  island  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  exasperation.  Conscious  of  their  in 
ability  to  contend  with  him  upon  the  continent  of  Eu 
rope,  confident  in  their  unquestionable  but  not  then 
unquestioned  supremacy  over  him  upon  the  ocean,  the 
British  government  saw  with  an  evil  eye,  the  advan 
tages  which  the  neutral  nations  were  deriving  from 
their  commercial  intercourse  with  France  and  her  al 
lies.  Little  observant  of  any  principle  but  that  of  her 
own  interest,  British  policy  then  conceived  the  project 
of  substituting  a  forced  commerce  between  her  own 
subjects  and  their  enemies,  by  annihilating  the  same 
commerce  enjoyed  by  her  enemies  through  the  privi 
leged  medium  of  the  neutral  flag.  In  her  purposes  of 
manifesting  for  her  own  benefit  the  superiority  of  her 


264  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

power  upon  the  seas,  British  policy,  has,  as  her  occa 
sions  serve,  a  choice  of  expedients.  In  the  present 
instance,  for  the  space  of  two  full  years,  she  had  suf 
fered  neutral  navigation  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  princi 
ples  in  the  law  of  nations,  formerly  recognized  by 
herself,  in  the  correspondence  between  Mr.  King  and 
Lord  Hawkesbury,  shortly  before  the  close  of  the 
preceding  war.  In  the  confidence  of  this  recognition, 
the  commerce  and  navigation  of  the  United  States 
had  grown  and  flourished  beyond  all  former  example, 
and  the  ocean  whitened  with  their  canvas.  Suddenly, 
as  if  by  a  concerted  signal  throughout  the  world  of 
waters  which  encompass  the  globe,  our  hardy  and 
peaceful,  though  intrepid  mariners,  found  themselves 
arrested  in  their  career  of  industry  and  skill  ;  seized 
by  the  British  cruizers  ;  their  vessels  and  cargoes  con 
ducted  into  British  ports,  and  by  the  spontaneous  and 
sympathetic  illumination  of  British  Courts  of  Vice 
Admiralty,  adjudicated  to  the  captors,  because  they 
were  engaged  in  a  trade  with  the  enemies  of  Britain 
to  which  they  had  not  usually  been  admitted  in  time 
of  peace.  Mr.  Monroe  had  scarcely  reached  London 
when  he  received  a  report  from  the  Consul  of  the 
United  States,  at  that  place,  announcing  that  about 
twenty  of  their  vessels,  had,  writhin  a  few  weeks,  been 
brought  into  the  British  ports  on  the  Channel,  and 
that  by  the  condemnation  of  more  than  one  of  them, 
the  Admirality  Court  had  settled  the  principle. 

And  thus  was  revived  the  stubborn  contest  between 
neutral  rights  and  belligerent  pretensions,  which  had 


LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE.  265 

sown,  for  so  many  years,  thickets  of  thorns  in  the  path 
of  the  preceding  administrations  ;  which  Washington 
had  with  infinite  difficulty  avoided,  and  which  his  suc 
cessor  had  scarcely  been  fortunate  enough  to  avoid. 
And  from  that  day  to  the  peace  of  Ghent,  the  biogra 
phy  of  James  Monroe  is  the  history  of  that  struggle, 
and  in  a  great  degree  the  history  of  this  nation — an 
eventful  period  in  the  annals  of  mankind  ;  a  deeply 
momentous  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  our  Union.  A  rapid 
sketch  of  the  agency  of  Mr.  Monroe  in  several  suc 
cessive  and  important  stations,  through  the  series  of 
vicissitudes,  is  all  that  the  occasion  will  permit,  and 
more,  I  fear,  than  the  time  accorded  by  the  indul 
gence  of  my  auditory  will  allow.  The  controversy 
wras  opened  by  a  note  of  mild,  but  indignant  remon 
strance  from  Mr.  Monroe  to  the  Earl  of  Mulgrave, 
answered  by  that  nobleman  verbally,  with  excuse, 
apology,  qualified  avowal,  equivocation,  and  a  promise 
of  written  discussion,  which  never  came.  Mr.  Pitt 
died  ;  his  ministry  was  dissolved,  and  he  was  succeed 
ed  as  the  head  of  the  administration,  by  the  great  ri 
val  and  competitor  of  his  fame,  Charles  Fox.  In  the 
meantime  the  navies  of  France  and  Spain  had  been 
annihilated  at  Trafalgar,  and  the  imperial  crowns  of 
Muscovy  and  of  Austria,  had  cowered  under  the  blos 
soming  sceptre  of  the  soldier  of  fortune  at  Austerlitz. 
Mr.  Fox,  liberal  in  his  principles,  but  trammelled  by 
the  passions,  prejudices,  and  terrors  of  his  country 
men  and  his  colleagues,  disavowed  the  new  practice 
of  capturing  neutrals,  and  the  new  principles  in  the 


266  LIFE    OP    JAMES    MONROE. 

Admirality  Courts  which  had  so  simultaneously  made 
their  appearance  :  but  Mr.  Fox  issued  a  paper  block 
ade  of  the  whole  coast,  from  the  Elbe  to  Brest.  He 
revoked  the  orders  under  which  the  British  cruizers 
had  swept  the  seas,  and  released  the  vessels  already 
captured,  upon  which  the  sentence  of  the  Admirality 
had  not  been  passed,  but  he  demurred  to  the  claim  of 
indemnity  for  adjudications  already  consummated.  Of 
the  excitement  and  agitation,  raised  in  our  country  by 
this  inroad  upon  the  laws  of  nations  and  upon  neutral 
commerce,  an  adequate  idea  can  now  scarcely  be  con 
ceived.  The  complaints,  the  remonstrances,  the  ap 
peals  for  protections  to  Congress,  from  the  plundered 
merchants,  rung  throughout  the  Union.  A  fire  spread 
ing  from  Portland  to  New  Orleans,  would  have  scarce 
ly  been  more  destructive.  Memorial  upon  memorial, 
from  all  the  cities  of  the  land,  loaded  the  tables  of  the 
Legislative  Halls,  with  the  cry  of  distress  and  the  call 
upon  the  national  arm  for  defence,  restitution  and  in 
demnity.  Mr.  Jefferson  instituted  again  a  special  and 
extraordinary  mission  to  London,  in  which  William 
Pinckney,  perhaps  the  most  eloquent  of  our  citizens 
then  living,  was  united  with  Mr.  Monroe.  Had  Mr. 
Fox  lived,  their  negotiation  might  have  been  ultimate 
ly  successful.  While  he  lived,  the  cruizers  upon  the 
seas,  and  the  Admirality  Courts  upon  the  shores,  sus 
pended  their  concert  of  depredation  upon  the  Ameri 
can  commerce,  and  a  treaty  was  concluded  between 
the  Ministers  of  our  country,  and  Plenipotentiaries 
selected  by  Mr.  Fox,  which,  with  subsequent  modifi- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  267 

cations,  just  and  reasonable,  suggested  on  our  part, 
might  have  restored  peace  and  harmony,  so  far  as  it 
can  subsist,  between  emulous  and  rival  nations.  As 
transmitted  to  this  country,  however,  the  treaty  was 
deemed  by  Mr,  Jefferson  not  to  have  sufficiently  pro 
vided  against  the  odious  impressment  of  our  seamen, 
and  it  was  clogged  with  the  declaration  of  the  British 
Plenipotentiaries,  delivered  after  the  signature  of  the 
treaty,  suspending  the  obligation  upon  an  extraneous 
and  inadmissible  condition.  Mr.  Jefferson  sent  back 
the  treaty  for  revisal,  but  the  mature  and  conciliatory 
spirit  of  Fox,  was  no  longer  to  be  found  in  the  coun 
cils  of  Britain.  It  had  been  succeeded  by  the  dashing 
and  flashy  spirit  of  George  Canning.  He  refused  to 
resume  the  negotiation.  Under  the  auspices,  not  of 
positive  orders,  but  of  the  well  known  temper  of  his 
administration,  Berkley  committed  the  unparalleled 
outrage  upon  the  Chesapeake — disavowed,  but  never 
punished.  Then  came  the  orders  in  council  of  No 
vember,  1807 :  the  proclamation  to  sanction  man- 
stealing  from  American  merchantmen  by  royal  au 
thority  ;  and  the  mockery  of  an  olive  branch  in  the 
hands  of  George  Rose — our  embargo  ;  the  liberal  and 
healing  arrangement  of  David  Erskine,  disavowed  by 
his  government  as  soon  as  known — but  not  unpunish 
ed  ;  a  minister  fresh  from  Copenhagen,  sent  to  ad 
minister  the  healing  medicine  for  Erskine's  error,  in 
the  shape  of  insolence  and  defiance.  Insult  and  inju 
ry  followed  each  other  in  foul  succession,  till  the  smil 
ing  visage  of  Peace  herself  flushed  with  resentment, 
12 


268  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

and  the  Representatives  of  the  nation  responded  to 
the  loud  and  indignant  call  of  their  country  for  war. 
When  the  British  gocernment  refused  to  resume  the 
negotiation  of  the  treaty,  the  Extraordinary  Mission 
in  which  Monroe  and  Pinckney  had  been  joined,  was 
at  an  end.  Mr.  Monroe,  even  before  the  commence 
ment  of  that  negotiation,  had  solicited  and  obtained 
permission  to  return  home — a  determination,  the  exe 
cution  of  which  had  by  that  special  joint  mission  been 
postponed.  He  suffered  a  further  short  detention,  in 
consequence  of  the  exploit  of  Admiral  Berkley  upon 
the  Chesapeake  and  returned  to  the  United  States  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1807.  After  a  short  interval 
passed  in  the  retirement  of  private  life,  he  was  again 
elected  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  upon  the  resigna 
tion  of  Robert  Smith,  was,  in  the  spring  of  1811,  ap 
pointed  by  President  Madison,  Secretary  of  State. 
This  office  he  continued  to  hold  during  the  remainder 
of  the  double  Presidential  term  of  Mr.  Madison,  with 
the  exception  of  about  six  months  at  the  close  of  the 
late  war  with  Great  Britain,  when  he  discharged  the 
then  still  more  arduous  duties  of  the  War  Department. 
On  the  return  of  peace  he  was  restored  to  the  Depart 
ment  of  State  ;  and  on  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Madi 
son  in  1817,  he  was  elected  President  of  the  United 
States — re-elected  without  opposition  in  1821.  On 
the  third  of  March,  1825,  he  retired  to  his  residence 
in  Loudon  county,  Virginia.  Subsequent  to  that  pe 
riod,  he  discharged  the  ordinary  judicial  functions  of 
a  magistrate  of  the  county,  and  of  curator  of  the 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  269 

University  of  Virginia.  In  the  winter  of  1829  and 
1830,  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  Convention  called 
to  revise  the  Constitution  of  that  Commonwealth  ; 
and  took  an  active  part  in  their  deliberations,  over 
which  he  was  unanimously  chosen  to  preside.  From 
this  station,  he  was,  however,  compelled,  before  the 
close  of  the  labors  of  the  Convention,  by  severe  ill 
ness,  to  retire.  The  succeeding  summer,  he  was,  in 
'the  short  compass  of  a  week,  visited  by  the  bereave 
ment  of  the  beloved  partner  of  his  life,  and  of  another 
near,  affectionate  and  respected  relative.  Soon  after 
these  deep  and  trying  afflictions,  he  removed  his  resi 
dence  to  the  city  of  New  York  ;  where,  surrounded 
by  filial  solicitude  and  tenderness,  the  flickering  lamp 
of  life  held  its  lingering  flame,  as  if  to  await  the  day 
of  the  nation's  birth  and  glory  ;  when  the  soldier  of 
the  Revolution,  the  statesman  of  the  Confederacy,  the 
chosen  chieftain  of  the  constituted  nation,  sunk  into 
the  arms  of  slumber,  to  awake  no  more  upon  earth, 
and  yielded  his  pure  and  gallant  spirit  to  receive  the 
sentence  of  his  Maker. 

Of  the  twenty  years,  which  intervened  between 
his  first  appointment,  as  Secretary  of  State,  and  his 
decease,  to  give  even  a  summary,  would  be  to  encroach 
beyond  endurance  upon  your  time.  He  came  to  the 
Department  of  State  at  a  time  when  war,  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  was  impending 
and  unavoidable.  It  was  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  this 
Union  full  of  difficulty  and  danger.  The  Constitution 
had  never  before  been  subjected  to  the  trial  of  a  for- 


270  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

midable  foreign  war  ;  and  one  of  the  greatest  misfor 
tunes,  which  attended  it,  was  the  want  of  unanimity 
in  the  country  for  its  support.  This  is  not  the  occa 
sion  to  revive  the  dissensions  which  then  agitated  the 
public  mind.  It  may  suffice  to  say  that,  until  the  war 
broke  out,  and  during  its  continuance,  the  duties  of 
the  offices  held  by  Mr.  Monroe,  at  the  head,  succes 
sively,  of  the  Departments  of  State  and  War,  were 
performed  with  untiring  assiduity,  with  universally  ac 
knowledged  ability,  and,  with  a  zeal  of  patriotism, 
which  counted  health,  fortune,  and  life  itself,  for  noth 
ing,  in  the  ardor  of  self  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his 
country.  It  is  a  tribute  of  justice  to  his  memory  to 
say,  that  he  was  invariably  the  adviser  of  energetic 
counsels  ;  nor  is  the  conjecture  hazardous,  that,  had 
his  appointment  to  the  Department  of  war,  preceded, 
by  six  months,  its  actual  date,  the  heaviest  disaster  of 
the  war,  heaviest,  because  its  remembrance  must  be 
coupled  with  the  blush  of  shame,  would  have  been 
spared  as  a  blotted  page  in  the  annals  of  our  Union. 
It  should  have  been  remembered,  that,  in  war,  heed 
less  security,  on  one  side,  stimulates  desperate  expe 
dients  on  the  other  ;  and  that  the  enterprise,  surely  fa 
tal  to  the  undertaker,  when  encountered  by  precau 
tion,  becomes  successful  achievement  over  the  help 
lessness  of  neglected  preparation.  Such  had  been  the 
uniform  lesson  of  experience  in  former  ages  ;  such 
had  it,  emphatically,  been  in  our  own  Revolutionary 
War.  Strange,  indeed,  would  it  appear,  had  it  been 
forgotten  by  one  who  had  so  gloriously  and  so  dearly 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  271 

purchased  it  at  Trenton.  By  him  it  was  not  forgot 
ten  :  nor  had  it  escaped  the  calm  and  deliberate  fore 
sight  of  the  venerable  patriot,  who  then  presided  in 
the  executive  chair  ;  and,  at  this  casual  and  unpre 
meditated  remembrance  of  him,  bear  with  me,  my 
fellow  citizens,  if,  pausing  for  a  moment  from  the  con 
templation  of  the  kindred  virtues  of  his  successor,  co- 
patriot,  and  friend,  I  indulge  the  effusion  of  gratitude, 
and  of  public  veneration,  to  share  in  your  gladness, 
that  he  yet  lives — lives  to  impart  to  you,  and  to  your 
children,  the  priceless  jewel  of  his  instruction  :  lives 
in  the  hour  of  darkness,  and  of  danger,  gathering 
over  you,  as  if  from  the  portals  of  eternity,  to  enlight 
en,  and  to  guide. 

Among  the  severest  trials  of  the  war,  was  the  defi 
ciency  of  adequate  funds  to  sustain  it,  and  the  progres 
sive  degradation  of  the  national  credit.  By  an  unpro- 
pitious  combination  of  rival  interests,  and  of  political 
prejudices,  the  first  Bank  of  the  United  States,  at  the 
very  outset  of  the  war,  had  been  denied  the  renewal 
of  its  charter  :  a  heavier  blow  of  illusive  and  contrac 
ted  policy,  could  scarcely  have  befallen  the  Union. 
The  polar  star  of  public  credit,  and  of  commercial 
confidence,  was  abstracted  from  the  firmament,  and 
the  needle  of  the  compass  wandered  at  random  to  the 
four  quarters  of  the  heavens.  From  the  root  of  the 
fallen  trunk,  sprang  up  a  thicket  of  perishable  suckers 
— never  destined  to  bear  fruit  :  the  offspring  of  sum 
mer  vegetation,  withering  at  the  touch  of  the  first 
winter's  frost.  Yet,  upon  them  was  our  country 


272  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

Doomed  to  rely  :  it  was  her  only  substitute  for  the 
shade  and  shelter  of  the  parent  tree.  The  currency 
soon  fell  into  frightful  disorder  :  Banks,  with  fictitious 
capital,  swarmed  throughout  the  land,  and  spunged 
the  purse  of  the  people,  often  for  the  use  of  their  own 
money,  with  more  than  usurious  extortion.  The  solid 
Banks,  even  of  this  metropolis,  were  enabled  to 
maintain  their  integrity,  only  by  contracting  their  ope 
rations  to  an  extent  ruinous  to  their  debtors,  and  to 
themselves.  A  balance  of  trade,  operating  like  uni 
versal  fraud,  vitiated  the  channels  of  intercourse  be 
tween  North  and  South  :  and  the  Treasury  of  the 
Union  was  replenished  only  with  countless  millions 
of  silken  tatters,  and  unavailable  funds  :  chartered 
corporations,  bankrupt,  under  the  gentle  name  of  sus 
pended  specie  payments,  and  without  a  dollar  of  capi 
tal  to  pay  their  debts,  sold,  at  enormous  discounts,  the 
very  evidence  of  those  debts  ;  and  passed  off,  upon 
the  Government  of  their  country,  at  par,  their  rags — 
purchasable,  in  open  market,  at  depreciations  of  thirty 
and  forty  per  cent.  In  the  meantime,  so  degraded 
was  the  credit  of  the  nation,  and  so  empty  their 
Treasury,  that  Mr.  Monroe,  to  raise  the  funds  indis 
pensable  for  the  defence  of  New  Orleans,  could  ob 
tain  them  only  by  pledging  his  private  individual 
credit,  as  subsidiary  to  that  of  the  nation.  This  he 
did  without  an  instant  of  hesitation,  nor  was  he  less 
ready  to  sacrifice  the  prospects  of  laudable  ambition, 
than  the  objects  of  personal  interest,  to  the  suffering 
cause  of  his  country. 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONtt06aK=  273 

Mr.  Monroe  was  appointed  to  the  Department  of 
War,  towards  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1814. 
Among  the  first  of  his  duties,  was  that  of  preparing 
a  general  plan  of  military  operations  for  the  succeed 
ing  year  :  a  task  rendered  doubly  arduous  by  the  pe 
culiar  circumstances  of  the  time.  When  the  war, 
between  the  United  States  and  Britain,  had  first  kin 
dled  into  flame,  Britain,  herself,  was  in  the  convulsive 
pangs  of  a  struggle,  which  had  often  threatened  her 
existence  as  an  independent  nation — in  the  twentieth 
year  of  a  war,  waged  with  agonizing  exertions,  which 
had  strained,  to  the  vital  point  of  endurance,  all  the 
sinews  of  her  power,  and  absorbed  the  resources,  not 
only  of  her  people  then  on  the  theatre  of  life,  but  of 
their  posterity,  for  long  after-ages.  In  the  short  in 
terval  of  two  years,  from  the  commencement  of  her 
war  with  America,  in  a  series  of  those  vicissitudes  by 
which  a  mysterious  Providence  rescues  its  impenetra 
ble  decrees  from  the  presumptuous  foresight  of  man, 
Britain  had  transformed  the  mightiest  monarchies  of 
Europe,  from  inveterate  enemies  into  devoted  allies  ; 
and,  in  the  metropolis  of  her  most  dreaded,  and  most 
detested  foe,  was  dictating  to  him  terms  of  humilia 
tion,  and  lessons  of  political  morality.  The  war  had 
terminated  in  her  complete  and  unqualified  triumph  ; 
her  numerous  victorious  veteran  legions,  flushed  with 
the  glory,  and  stung  with  the  ambition  of  long-con 
tested,  and  hard-earned,  success,  were  turned  back 
upon  her  hands,  without  occupation  for  their  enter 
prise,  eager  for  new  fields  of  battle,  and  new  rewards 


274  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

of  achievement.  Ten  thousand  of  these  selected 
warriors  had  already  been  detached  from  her  multi 
tudes  in  arms,  commanded  by  a  favorite  lieutenant, 
and  relative  of  Wellington,  to  share  in  the  beauty  and 
booty  of  New  Orleans,  and  to  acquire,  for  a  time 
which  her  after-consideration  and  interest  were  to 
determine,  the  mastery  of  the  Mississippi,  his  waters, 
and  his  shores.  The  fate  of  this  gallant  host,  sealed 
in  the  decrees  of  heaven,  had  not  then  been  consum 
mated  upon  earth.  They  had  not  matched  their  for 
ces  with  the  planters  and  ploughmen  of  the  western 
wilds — nor  learnt  the  difference  between  a  struggle 
with  the  servile  and  mercenary  squadrons  of  a  mili 
tary  conqueror,  and  a  conflict  with  the  freeborn  de 
fenders  of  their  firesides,  their  children,  and  their 
wives.  Besides  that  number  of  ten  thousand,  she  had 
myriads  more  at  her  disposal — burdens  at  once  upon 
her  gratitude  and  her  revenues,  and  to  whom  she 
could  furnish  employment  and  support,  only  by 
transporting  them  to  gather  new  laurels,  and  rise  to 
more  exalted  renown  upon  the  ruins  of  our  Union. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  and  such  the  pros 
pects  of  the  coming  year,  when  immediately  after  the 
successful  enterprise  of  the  enemy  upon  the  metrop 
olis,  Congress  was  convened  upon  the  smoking  ruins 
of  the  Capitol,  and  Mr.  Monroe  wras  called,  without 
retiring  from  the  duties  of  the  Department  of  State, 
to  assume  in  addition  to  them,  those  of  presiding 
over  the  Department  of  War.  Such  was  the  emer 
gency  for  which  it  became  his  duty  to  prepare  and 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  275 

mature  plans  of  military  operations.  It  is  obvious  that 
they  must  be  far  beyond  the  range  of  the  ordinary 
means  and  resources  on  which  the  government  of  the 
Union  had  been  accustomed  to  rely.  They  were  such 
as  to  call  forth  not  only  the  voluntary  but  the  unwil 
ling  and  reluctant  hand  of  the  citizen  to  defend  his 
country.  They  summoned  the  Legislative  voice  of 
the  Union  to  command  the  service  of  her  sons.  The 
army,  already  authorized  by  Acts  of  Congress  had 
risen  in  numbers  to  upwards  of  sixty  thousand  men  : 
Mr.  Monroe  proposed  to  increase  it  to  one  hundred 
thousand,  besides  auxiliary  military  force  ;  and,  in  ad 
dition  to  all  the  usual  allurements  to  enlistment,  to 
levy  all  deficiencies  of  effective  numbers,  by  drafts 
upon  the  whole  body  of  the  people.  This  resort, 
though  familiar  to  the  usages  of  our  own  revolution 
ary  war,  was  now  in  the  clamors  of  political  opposi 
tion,  assimilated  to  the  conscriptions  of  revolutionary 
France,  and  of  Napoleon.  It  was  obnoxious  not  only 
to  the  censure  of  all  those  who  disapproved  the  war, 
but  to  the  indolent,  the  lukewarm  and  the  weak.  It 
sent  the  recruting  officer  to  ruffle  the  repose  of  do 
mestic  retirement.  It  authorized  him  alike  to  unfold 
the  gates  to  the  magnificent  mansion  of  the  wealthy, 
and  to  lift  the  latch  of  the  cottage  upon  the  moun 
tains.  It  sounded  the  trumpet  in  the  nursery.  It 
rang  "  to  arms  "  in  the  bed-chamber.  Mr.  Monroe 
was  perfectly  aware  that  the  recommendation  to 
Congress  of  such  a  plan,  must  at  least  for  a  time 
deeply  affect  the  personal  popularity  of  the  proposer, 
12* 


276  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

He  believed  it  to  be  necessary,  and  indispensable  to 
the  triumph  of  the  cause.  The  time  for  the  people 
to  prepare  their  minds  for  fixing  the  succession  to  the 
presidential  chair  was  approaching.  Mr.  Monroe 
was  already  prominent  among  the  names  upon  which 
the  public  sentiment  was  now  concentrating  itself  as 
a  suitable  candidate  for  the  trust.  It  was  foreseen 
by  him,  that  the  purpose  of  defeating  the  plan,  would 
connect  itself  with  the  prospects  of  the  ensuing  presi 
dential  election,  and  that  the  friends  of  rival  candi 
dates,  otherwise  devoted  to  the  most  energetic  prose 
cution  of  the  war,  might  take  a  direction  adverse  to 
the  adoption  of  the  plan,  not  from  the  intrinsic  objec 
tions  against  it,  but  from  the  popular  disfavor  which 
it  might  shed  upon  its  author.  After  consultation 
with  some  of  his  confidential  friends,  he  resolved  in 
the  event  of  the  continuance  of  the  war,  to  withdraw 
his  name  at  once  from  the  complicated  conflicts  of 
the  canvass,  by  publicly  declining  to  starid  a  candi 
date  for  election  to  the  presidency.  He  had  already 
authorized  one  or  more  persons  distinguished  in  the 
councils  of  the  Union,  to  announce  this  as  his  inten 
tion,  which  would  have  been  carried  into  execution, 
but  that  the  motives  by  which  it  was  dictated,  were 
suspended  by  the  conclusion  of  the  peace. 

That  event  was  the  era  of  a  new  system  of  policy, 
and  new  divisions  of  parties  in  our  federal  Union.  It 
relieved  us  from  many  of  the  most  inflamatbry  symp 
toms  of  our  political  disease.  It  disengaged  us  from 
all  sympathies  with  foreigners  predominating  over 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  277 

those  due  to  our  own  country.  We  have  now,  neither 
in  the  hearts  of  personal  rivals,  nor  upon  the  lips 
of  political  adversaries,  the  reproach  of  devotion  to  a 
French  or  a  British  faction.  If  we  rejoice  in  the  tri 
umph  of  European  arms,  it  is  in  the  victories  of  the 
cross  over  the  crescent.  If  we  gladden  with  the  na 
tive  countrymen  of  Lafayette  or  sadden  with  those 
of  Pulaski  and  Kosciusko,  it  is  the  gratulation  of  free 
dom  rescued  from  oppression,  and  the  mourning  of 
kindred  spirits  over  the  martyrs  to  their  country's  in 
dependence.  We  have  no  sympathies  but  with  the 
joys  and  sorrows  of  patriotism  ;  no  attachments  but 
to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  of  man. 

The  first  great  object  of  national  policy,  upon  the 
return  of  peace,  was  the  redemption  of  the  Union 
from  fiscal  ruin.  This  was  in  substance  accomplished 
during  the  remnant  of  Madison's  administration,  prin 
cipally  by  the  re-establishment  of  a  National  Bank, 
with  enlarged  capacities  and  capital  :  enacted  by 
Congress  under  the  recommendation  of  the  Execu 
tive,  not  through  the  Department,  but  with  the  con 
currence  of  Mr.  Monroe.  He  upon  the  cessation  of 
the  war,  had  retired  from  the  easy  though  laborious 
duties  of  its  department,  and  devoted  all  his  faculties 
to  the  political  intercourse  of  the  nation  with  all 
others.  There  was  a  remnant  of  war  with  the  pirates 
of  Algiers',  fo  which  the  gallant  and  lamented  Decatur 
carried  peace  and  freedom  from  tribute  forever,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cannon  of  a  single  frigate.  There 
were  grave  and  momentous  negotiations  of  commerce, 


278  LIFE    OF    JA31ES    MONROE. 

of  fisheries,  of  boundary,  of  trade  with  either  India, 
of  extinction  to  the  slave  trade,  of  South  American 
freedom,  of  indemnity  for  enticed  and  depredated 
slaves,  with  Great  Britain  ;  others  on  various  topics 
scarcely  less  momentous  with  Frarice,  with  Spain, 
with  Sweden  ;  and  with  almost  every  nation  of  Eu 
rope  there  were  claims  unadjusted  for  outrages,  and 
property  plundered  upon  the  seas,  or,  with  more 
shameless  destitution  of  any  just  or  lawful  pretext,  in 
their  own  ports.  There  was  a  system  of  policy  to  be 
pursued  with  regard  to  the  embryo  states  of  Southern 
America,  combining  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of 
neutrality,  with  the  rightful  furtherance  of  their 
emancipation. 

Turning  from  the  foreign  to  the  domestic  interests 
of  the  united  republic,  there  were  objects  rising  to 
contemplation  not  less  in  grandeur  of  design  ;  not  less 
arduous  in  preparation  for  the  effective  agency  of  the 
national  councils. 

The  most  painful,  perhaps  the  most  profitable  les 
son  of  the  war  was  the  primary  duty  of  the  nation  to 
place  itself  in  a  state  of  permanent  preparation  for 
self-defence.  This  had  been  the  doctrine  and  the 
creed  of  Washington,  from  the  first  organization  of 
the  government.  It  had  been  encountered  by  oppo 
sition  so  determined  and  persevering,  sustained  by 
prejudices  so  akin  to  reason  and  by  sensibilities  so 
natural  to  freemen,  that  all  the  influence  of  that  great 
and  good  man,  aided  by  the  foresight,  and  argument 
and  earnest  solicitude  of  his  friends  to  carry  it  into 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  279 

effect,  had  proved  abortive.  An  extensive  arid  ex 
pensive  system  of  fortification  upon  our  shores  ;  an 
imposing  and  well  constituted  naval  establishment 
upon  the  seas,  had  been  urged  in  all  the  ardor  and 
sincerity  of  conviction  by  the  federalists  of  the  Wash 
ington  school,  not  only  without  producing  upon  the 
majority  of  the  nation  the  same  conviction,  but  with 
the  mortification  of  having  their  honest  zeal  for  the 
public  welfare  turned  as  an  engine  of  personal  war 
fare  upon  themselves.  By  the  result  of  this  course 
of  popular  feelings,  it  happened  that  when  the  war  in 
all  its  terrors  and  all  its  dangers  came,  it  was  to  be 
managed  and  supported  by  those  who  to  the  last  mo 
ment  preceding  it,  had  resisted,  if  not  all,  at  least  all 
burdensome  and  effective  preparation  for  meeting  it. 
A  solemn  and  awful  responsibility  was  it,  that  they 
incurred  ;  and  with  brave  and  gallant  bearing  did 
they  pass  through  the  ordeal  which  they  had  defied. 
Well  was  it  for  them  that  a  superintending  Providence 
shaped  the  ends,  rough-hewn  by  them ;  but  it  produc 
ed  conviction  upon  their  minds  ;  and  it  overcame  the 
repugnances  of  the  people.  A  combined  system  of 
efficient  fortification  arming  the  shores  and  encircling 
the  soil  of  the  republic,  and  the  gradual  establishment 
of  a  powerful  navy,  were  from  the  restoration  of  the 
peace  unto  his  latest  hour,  among  the  paramount  and 
favorite  principles  in  the  political  system  of  Mr.  Mon 
roe  for  the  government  of  the  Union.  In  these  ob 
jects,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  supported  as  well 
by  the  opinions  of  his  immediate  predecessor,  as  by 


280  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

the  predominent  sentiments  of  the  people.  The  sys 
tem  in  both  its  branches  was  commenced  in  the  ad 
ministration  and  with  the  full  concurrence  of  Mr. 
Madison.  It  has  continued  without  vital  modification 
to  this  day.  May  it  live  and  flourish  through  all  the 
political  conflicts,  to  which  you  may  be  destined  here 
after,  and  survive  your  children's  children,  till  augury 
becomes  presumption. 

There  was  yet  another  object  of  great  and  national 
interest,  brought  conspicuously  into  view  by  the  war, 
which  pressed  its  unwieldy  weight  upon  the  Councils 
of  the  Union,  from  the  conclusion  of  the  peace.  It 
was  the  adaptation  of  the  just  and  impartial  action  of 
the  federal  government  to  the  various  interests  of 
which  the  Union  is  composed,  with  regard  to  revenue, 
to  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  to  the  industrious 
pursuits  of  the  farmer  and  planter,  of  the  pioneers  of 
the  wilderness,  of  the  merchant  and  navigator,  of  the 
manufacturer  and  mechanic,  and  of  the  intellectual 
laborer  of  the  mind,  including  all  the  learned  profes 
sions  and  teachers  of  literature,  religion  and  morals. 
To  all  this,  a  system  of  legitimate  and  equal  govern 
mental  action  was  to  be  adapted  ;  and  vast  and  com 
prehensive  as  the  bare  statement  of  it  will  present 
itself  to  your  minds,  it  was  rendered  still  more  com 
plicated  by  the  necessity  of  accommodating  it  to  the 
adverse  operation  upon  the  same  interests  of  foreign 
and  rival  legislation  through  the  medium  of  commer 
cial  intercourse  with  our  country.  At  the  very  mo 
ment  of  the  peace  the  occasion  was  seized  of  tender- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  281 

ing  to  all  the  commercial  nations  of  Europe  a  system 
of  intercourse  founded  upon  entire  reciprocity,  and  a 
liberal  and  perfect  equalization  of  impost  and  tonnage 
duties.  This  offer  was  very  partially  accepted,  but 
has  gradually  extended  itself  to  several  of  the  Euro 
pean  nations,  and  to  all  those  of  Southern  America. 
It  is  yet  incomplete,  and  its  destiny  hereafter  is  uncer 
tain.  It  must  perhaps  ever  so  remain,  as  it  must  for 
ever  depend  upon  the  enduring  and  concurrent  will 
of  other  independent  nations.  The  fair,  the  free,  the 
fraternal  system  is  that  of  entire  reciprocity  ;  and  as 
the  principles  flowing  from  these  impulses  speed  their 
progress  in  the  civilization  of  man,  there  are  grounds 
for  hope  that  they  may  in  process  of  time,  universally 
prevail. 

But  there  were  other  interests  of  high  import  call 
ing  for  the  legislative  action  to  support  them.  The 
war  had  cut  off  the  supply  to  a  great  extent  of  many 
articles  of  foreign  manufacture,  of  universal  con 
sumption,  and  necessary  for  the  enjoyment  of  the 
comforts  of  life.  This  had  necessarily  introduced 
large  manufacturing  establishments,  to  which  the  ap 
plication  of  heavy  masses  of  capital  had  been  made. 
The  competition  of  foreign  manufactures  of  the  same 
articles,  aided  by  bounties  and  other  encouragements 
from  their  own  governments,  would  have  crushed  in 
their  infancy  all  such  establishments  here,  had  they 
not  been  supported  by  some  benefaction  from  the  au 
thority  of  the  Union.  The  adventurer  in  the  West 
ern  territories  needed  the  assistance  of  the  national 


282  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

arm  to  his  exertions  for  coverting  the  wilderness  into 
a  garden.  Secure  from  the  assaults  of  foreign  hos 
tility,  the  whole  people  had  leisure  to  turn  their  atten 
tion  to  the  improvement  of  their  own  condition.  And 
hence  the  protection  of  domestic  industry  and  the  im 
provement  of  the  internal  communications  between 
the  portions  of  the  Union  remote  from  each  other, 
formed  an  associated  system  of  policy,  embraced  by 
many  of  our  most  distinguished  citizens,  and  pursued 
with  sincere  and  ardent  patriotism.  This  system, 
however,  was  destined  to  encounter  two  obstacles  of 
the  gravest  and  most  formidable  character.  The  first, 
a  qaestion  how  far  the  people  of  the  Union  had  dele 
gated  to  their  general  government  the  power  of  pro 
viding  for  their  welfare,  of  promoting  their  happiness, 
of  improving  their  condition  1  The  second,  whether 
domestic  industry  and  internal  improvement,  limited 
by  localities  less  extensive  than  the  whole  Union,  can 
be  protected  and  promoted  without  sacrifice  of  the 
interests  of  one  portion  of  the  Union  for  the  benefit 
of  another.  The  divisions  of  opinion  and  the  collis 
ions  of  sentiment  upon  these  points  have  been  fester 
ing  since  the  first  advances  of  the  system,  till  they 
have  formed  an  imposthume  in  the  body  politic  threat 
ening  its  total  dissolution.  Mr.  Monroe's  opinion  was, 
that  the  power  of  establishing  a  general  system  of 
internal  improvement,  had  not  been  delegated  to  Con 
gress  ;  but  that  the  power  of  levying  and  appropria 
ting  money  for  purposes  of  national  importance,  mili 
tary  or  commercial,  or  for  transportation  of  the  mail 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  283 

was  among  their  delegated  trusts.  These  subjects 
have  been  discussed  under  various  forms  in  the  de 
liberations  of  Congress  from  that  period  to  the  pres 
ent  day,  and  they  are  yet  far  from  being  exhausted. 
An  appropriation  of  ten  millions  of  dollars  annually 
to  the  discharge  of  the  principal  and  interest  of  the 
public  debt,  was  one  of  the  earliest  measures  of  Mr. 
Madison's  administration  after  the  peace,  and  that 
purpose  steadily  pursued  has  reduced  that  national 
burden  to  so  small  an  amount,  that  the  total  extinc 
tion  of  the  debt,  can  scarcely  be  protracted  beyond  a 
term  of  two  or  three  years  from  this  time. 

On  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Madison  from  the  office 
of  Chief  Magistrate,  in  1817,  Mr.  Monroe  was  elected 
by  a  considerable  majority  of  the  suffrages  in  the 
electoral  colleges,  as  his  successor.  This  election  took 
place  at  a  period  of  tranquility  in  the  public  mind,  of 
which  there  had  been  no  previous  example  since  the 
second  election  of  Washington.  To  this  tranquility, 
many  concurring  causes,  such  as  are  never  likely  to 
meet  again,  contributed,  and  among  them,  of  no  infe 
rior  order,  was  the  existing  state  of  the  foreign,  and 
especially  the  European  world.  It  continued  through 
the  four  years  of  his  first  Presidential  term,  at  the 
close  of  which  he  was  re-elected  without  a  show  of 
opposition,  and  by  the  voice  a  little  less  than  unani 
mous  of  the  whole  people.  These  halcyon  days  were 
not  destined  to  endure.  The  seeds  of  new  political 
parties  were  latent  in  the  withering  cores  of  the  old. 
New  personal  rivalries  were  shooting  up  from  the 


284  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

roots  of  those  which  had  been  levelled  with  the  earth. 
New  ambitions  were  kindling  from  beneath  the  em 
bers  that  had  ceased  to  smoke.  No  new  system  of 
policy  had  marked  the  administration  of  Mr.  Monroe. 
The  acquisition  of  the  Floridas  had  completed  that 
series  of  negotiations  (perhaps  it  were  no  exaggera 
tion  to  say,  of  Revolutions)  which  had  commenced 
under  the  confederation  with  the  Encargardo  de  JVe- 
gocios  of  Spain.  Viewed  as  a  whole,  throughout  its 
extent,  can  there  be  a  doubt  in  considering  it  as  the 
most  magnificent  supplement  to  our  national  Indepen 
dence  presented  by  our  history,  and  will  there  arise 
an  historian  of  this  Republican  empire,  who  shall  fail 
to  perceive  or  hesitate  to  acknowledge,  that  through 
out  the  long  series  of  these  transactions,  which  more 
than  doubled  the  territories  of  the  North  American 
Confederation,  the  leading  mind  of  that  great  move 
ment  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  and  thus  far  in  the 
march  of  human  improvement  upon  earth,  was  the 
mind  of  James  Monroe? 

In  his  Inaugural  Address,  delivered  according  to  a 
prevailing  usage,  upon  his  induction  to  office,  he  took 
a  general  view  of  the  existing  condition  and  general 
interests  of  the  nation,  and  marked  out  for  himself  a 
path  of  policy,  which  he  faithfully  pursued.  The  first 
of  the  objects  to  which  he  declared  that  his  purposes 
would  be  directed,  was  the  preparation  of  the  coun 
try  for  future  defensive  war.  Fortification  of  the 
coast  and  inland  frontiers — peace  establishments  of  the 
army  and  navy,  with  an  improved  system  of  regula- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  285 

tion  and  discipline  for  the  militia,  were  the  means  by 
which  this  was  to  be  effected,  and  to  which  his  inde 
fatigable  labors  were  devoted.  The  internal  improve 
ment  of  the  country,  by  roads  and  canals  ;  the  pro 
tection  and  encouragement  of  domestic  manufactures; 
the  cultivation  of  peace  and  friendship  with  the  Indian 
tribes — tendering  to  them,  always,  the  hand  of  cordi 
ality,  and  alluring  them  by  good  faith,  kindness,  and 
beneficent  instruction  to  share  and  to  covet  the  bles 
sings  of  civilization  ;  a  prudent,  judicious,  and  eco 
nomical,  administration  of  the  Treasury  ;  with  the 
profitable  and,  at  the  same  time  liberal,  management 
of  the  public  lands,  then  first  beginning  to  disclose 
their  active  and  appreciating  value,  as  national  prop 
erty  :  all  these  were  announced  as  the  interests  of 
the  great  community,  which  he  surveyed  as  commit 
ted  to  his  charge,  and  to  the  faithful  custody  and  ad 
vancement  of  which,  his  unremitted  exertions  should 
be  directed  :  and  never  was  pledge  with  more  entire 
self-devotion  redeemed. 

At  the  first  Session  of  Congress,  after  his  election 
to  the  Presidency,  Mr.  Monroe  deemed  it  his  duty,  in 
his  annual  message  to  that  body,  to  declare  in  them 
his  opinion,  that  the  power  to  establish  a  system  of 
Internal  Improvement  by  the  construction  of  roads 
and  canals,  was  not  possessed  by  Congress.  But,  be 
ing  also  of  opinion,  that  no  country  of  such  vast  ex 
tent  ever  offered  equal  inducements  to  improvements 
of  this  kind,  and  that,  never  were  consequences,  of 
such  magnitude,  involved  in  them,  he  earnestly  re- 


286  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE- 

commended  to  Congress,  to  urge  upon  the  States  the 
adoption  of  an  amendment  which  should  confer  the 
right  upon  them  :  and  with  it,  the  right  of  instituting 
seminaries  of  learning,  for  the  all-important  pur 
pose  of  diffusing  knowledge  among  our  fellow  citizens 
throughout  the  United  States.  Of  the  adoption  of 
such  an  amendment,  if  proposed  at  that  time,  he 
scarcely  entertained  a  doubt ;  but  a  majority  of  both 
Houses  of  the  National  Legislature  were  firmly  of 
opinion  that  this  power  had  already  been  granted  ; 
nor  has  the  majority  of  any  Congress,  since  that  time, 
been  enabled  to  conciliate  the  conclusions  that  a  pow 
er,  competent  to  the  annexation  of  Louisiana  to  this 
Union,  was  incompetent  to  the  construction  of  a  post- 
road,  to  the  opening  of  a  canal,  or  to  the  diffusion  of 
the  light  of  Heaven  upon  the  mind  of  after  ages,  by 
the  institution  of  seminaries  of  learning. 

Notwithstanding  the  manifestation  of  these  opin 
ions  of  Mr.  Monroe,  a  subsequent  Congress  did  pass 
an  act  for  the  maintenance  and  reparation  of  the 
Cumberland  Road,  and  for  the  erecting  of  toll-gates 
upon  it.  Firm  and  consistent  in  the  constitutional 
views  which  he  had  taken,  he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  ap 
ply  to  this  act  his  Presidential  arresting  power  ;  and, 
in  returning  the  Bill  to  the  House  where  it  originated 
justified  his  exercise  of  prerogative  in  an  able  and 
elaborate  exposition  of  the  reasons  of  his  opinions. 
This  work,  probably,  contains  whatever  of  argument 
the  intellectual  power  of  man  can  eviscerate  from  rea 
son,  against  the  exercise,  by  Congress,  of  the  contest- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  287 

ed  power.  It  arrested,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the 
progress  of  Internal  Improvement ;  and  succeeded  by 
similar  scruples  in  the  mind  of  one  of  his  successors, 
has  held  them  in  abeyance  to  this  day. 

The  opinions  of  James  Monroe  upon  doubtful  or 
controverted  points  of  Constitutional  Law,  can  never 
cease  to  be  deserving  of  profound  respect.  They 
were  never  lightly  entertained.  They  were  always 
deliberate,  always  disinterested,  always  sincere.  At 
a  subsequent  period  of  his  administration,  as  it  drew 
towards  its  close,  a  modification  suggested  itself  to 
his  mind,  warranting  a  compromise  between  the  doc 
trines  of  those  who  invoked  the  beneficent  action  of 
Congress  for  national  improvement,  and  of  those  who 
denied  to  the  Supreme  Councils  of  the  nation  the  right 
of  conferring  blessings  upon  the  people.  In  his  an 
nual  Message  to  Congress,  on  the  2d  of  December, 
1823,  he  announced  his  belief  that  Congress  did  pos 
sess  the  power  of  appropriating  money  for  the  con 
struction  of  a  Canal  to  connect  together  the  waters 
of  the  Chesapeake  and  the  Ohio  (the  jurisdiction  re 
maining  to  the  States  through  which  the  Canal  would 
pass.)  This  of  course  included  the  concession  of  the 
same  right  of  appropriating  money  for  all  other  like  ob 
jects  of  national  interest,  and  it  was  accompanied  with 
a  recommendation  to  Congress  to  consider  the  expedi 
ency  of  authorizing  by  an  adequate  appropriation  the 
employment  of  a  suitable  number  of  the  Officers  of 
the  Corps  of  Engineers,  to  examine  the  unexplored 
ground  during  the  ensuing  season,  and  to  report  their 


288  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

opinion  thereon  ;  extending  also  their  examination  to 
the  several  routes  through  which  the  waters  of  the 
Ohio  might  be  connected,  by  Canals,  with  those  of 
Lake  Erie.  Under  this  recommendation,  an  Act  of 
Congress  was  passed,  and  on  the  30th  of  April,  1824, 
received  the  signature  of  Mr.  Monroe,  appropriating 
the  sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  ;  authorizing  and 
enabling  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  cause 
the  necessary  surveys,  plans  and  estimates  to  be  made 
of  the  routes  of  such  Roads  and  Canals  as  he  might 
deem  of  national  importance,  in  a  commercial  or  mil 
itary  point  of  view,  or  necessary  for  the  transporta 
tion  of  the  public  mail ;  designating  in  the  case  of 
each  Canal,  what  parts  might  be  made  capable  of 
sloop  navigation.  The  results  of  the  surveys  to  be 
laid  before  Congress.  And  the  President  was  author 
ized  to  employ  Civil  Engineers,  with  such  officers  of 
the  several  military  corps  in  the  public  service  as  he 
might  detail  for  that  service,  to  accomplish  the  pur 
poses  of  the  Act. 

"  Sink  down,  ye  mountains  !  and  ye  vallies — rise  !  " 

Rise !  Rise,  before  your  forefathers,  here  assembled, 
ye  unborn  ages  of  after-time  !  Rise  !  and  bid  the 
feeble  and  perishing  voice,  which  now  addresses 
them,  proclaim  your  gratitude  to  your  and  their  Cre 
ator,  for  having  disposed  the  hearts  of  that  portion  of 
their  Representatives,  who  then  composed  their  Su 
preme  National  Council,  to  the  passage  of  that  Act. 
Exult  and  shout  for  joy  !  Rejoice  !  that,  if  for  you, 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  289 

there  are  neither  Rocky  Mountains,  nor  Oasis  of  the 
Desert,  from  the  rivers  of  the  Southern  Ocean  to  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  Sea :  Rejoice !  that,  if  for  you, 
the  waters  of  the  Columbia  mingle  in  union  with  the 
streams  of  the  Delaware,  the  Lakes  of  the  St.  Law 
rence,  and  the  floods  of  the  Mississippi  :  Rejoice ! 
that,  if  for  you,  every  valley  has  been  exalted,  and 
every  mountain  and  hill  has  been  made  low,  the 
crooked  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain  :  Rejoice ! 
that,  if  for  you,  Time  has  been  divested  of  his  delays, 
and  Space  disburthened  of  his  obstructions  :  Rejoice ! 
that,  if  for  you,  the  distant  have  been  drawn  near, 
and  the  repulsive  allured  to  mutual  attraction  :  that, 
if  for  you,  the  North  American  Continent  swarms 
with  unnumbered  multitudes  ;  of  hearts  beating  as  if 
from  one  bosom  ;  of  voice,  speaking  but  with  one 
tongue  ;  of  freemen,  constituting  one  confederated 
and  united  Republic  ;  of  brethren,  never  to  rise,  na 
tion  against  nation,  in  hostile  arms  ;  of  brethren,  to 
fulfil  the  blessed  prophecy  of  ancient  times,  that  war 
shall  be  no  more  :  to  the  power  of  applying  the  super- 
flous  revenues  of  these,  your  forefathers,  by  their  re 
presentatives  in  the  Congress  of  this  Union,  to  the 
improvement  of  your  condition,  you  are,  under  God, 
indebted  for  the  enjoyment  of  all  these  unspeakable 
blessings. 

The  system  of  Internal  Improvement,  then,  though 
severely  checked,  by  the  opinion  that  the  people  of 
this  Union  have  practically  denied  to  themselves  the 
power  of  bettering  their  own  condition,  by  restrain- 


290  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

ing  their  government  from  the  exercise  of  the  facul 
ties,  by  which  alone  it  can  be  made  effective,  was 
commenced  under  the  administration  of  James  Mon 
roe  :  commenced  with  his  sanction  :  commenced  at 
his  earnest  recommendation.  And  if,  in  after  ages, 
every  leaf  in  the  chaplet  of  his  renown,  shall  be  ex 
amined  by  the  scrutinizing  eye  of  grateful  memory, 
to  find,  in  the  perennial  green  of  all,  one  of  more  un 
fading  verdure  than  the  rest,  that  leaf  shall  unfold 
itself  from  the  stem  of  Internal  Improvement. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  discourse,  to  re 
view  the  numerous  and  important  Acts  of  Mr.  Mon 
roe's  administration.  In  the  multitude  of  a  great  na 
tion's  public  affairs,  there  is  no  official  act  of  their 
Chief  Magistrate,  however  momentous,  or  however 
t  /|  minute,  but  should  be  traceable  to  a  dictate  of  duty, 
I  i\  pointing  to  the  welfare  of  the  people.  Such  was  the 
\  \  cardinal  principle  of  Mr.  Monroe.  In  his  first  ad 
dress,  upon  his  election  to  the  Presidency,  he  had 
exposed  the  general  principles  by  which  his  conduct, 
in  the  discharge  of  his  great  trust,  would  be  regula 
ted.  In  his  second  Inaugural  Address,  he  succinctly 
reviewed  that  portion  of  the  career  through  which 
he  had  passed,  fortunately  sanctioned  by  public  ap 
probation  ;  and  promised  perseverance  in  it,  to  the 
close  of  his  public  service.  And,  in  his  last  annual 
Message  to  Congress,  on  the  seventh  of  December, 
1824,  announcing  his  retirement  from  public  life,  after 
the  close  of  that  session  of  the  Legislature,  he  re 
viewed  the  whole  course  of  his  administration,  com- 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  291 

paring  it  with  the  pledges  which  he  had  given  at 
its  commencement,  and  its  middle  term,  appealing  to 
the  judgment  and  consciousness  of  those  whom  he  ad 
dressed,  for  its  unity  of  principle  as  one  consistent 
whole,  not  exempt  indeed,  from  the  errors  and  infirmi 
ties  incident  to  all  human  action,  but  characteristic  of 
purposes  always  honest  and  sincere,  of  intentions  al 
ways  pure,  of  labors  outlasting  the  daily  circuit  of 
the  sun,  and  outwatching  the  vigils  of  the  night — and 
what  he  said  not,  but  a  faithful  witness  is  bound  to  re 
cord  ;  of  a  mind  anxious  and  unwearied  in  the  pursuit 
of  truth  and  right :  patient  of  inquiry  ;  patient  of 
contradiction  ;  courteous,  even  in  the  collision  of  sen-  ,-  v|\ini 
timent  ;  sound  in  its  ultimate  judgments  ;  and  firm  in 
its  final  conclusions. 

Such  my  fellow  citizens  was  James  Monroe.  Such 
was  the  man  who  presents  the  only  example  of  one 
whose  public  life  commenced  with  the  War  of  Inde 
pendence,  and  is  identified  with  all  the  important 
events  of  your  history  from  that  day  forth  for  a  full 
half  century.  And  now,  what  is  the  purpose  for 
which  we  have  here  assembled  to  do  honor  to  his 
memory  1  Is  it  to  scatter  perishable  flowers  upon  the 
yet  unsodded  grave  of  a  public  benefactor  ]  Is  it  to 
mingle  tears  of  sympathy  an^  of  consolation,  with 
those  of  mourning  and  bereaved  children  ]  Is  it  to 
do  honor  to  ourselves,  by  manifesting  a  becoming  sen 
sibility,  at  the  departure  of  one,  who  by  a  long  career 
of  honor  and  of  usefulness  has  been  to  us  all  as  a 

friend  and  brother  1     Or  is  it  not  rather  to  mark  the 
13 


292  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

memorable  incidents  of  a  life  signalized  by  all  the 
properties  which  embody  the  precepts  of  virtue  and 
the  principles  of  wisdom  1  Is  it  not  to  pause  for  a 
moment  from  the  passions  of  our  own  bosoms,  and 
the  agitation  of  our  own  interests,  to  survey  in  its 
whole  extent  the  long  and  little-beaten  path  of  the 
great  and  good  :  to  fix  with  intense  inspection  our 
own  vision,  and  to  point  the  ardent  but  unsettled  gaze 
of  our  children  upon  that  resplendent  row  of  cresset 
lamps,  fed  with  the  purest  vital  air,  which  illuminate 
the  path  of  the  hero,  the  statesman  and  the  sage. 
Have  you  a  son  of  ardent  feelings  and  ingenuous 
mind,  docile  to  instruction,  and  panting  for  honorable 
distinction  1  point  him  to  the  pallid  cheek  and  agoni 
zing  form  of  James  Monroe,  at  the  opening  blossom 
of  life,  weltering  in  his  blood  on  the  field  of  Trenton, 
for  the  cause  of  his  country.  Then  turn  his  eye  to 
the  same  form,  seven  years  later,  in  health  and  vigor, 
still  in  the  bloom  of  youth,  but  seated  among  the  Con 
script  Fathers  of  the  land  to  receive  entwined  with 
all  its  laurels  the  sheathed  and  triumphant  sword  of 
Washington.  Guide  his  eye  along  to  the  same  object 
investigating  by  the  midnight  lamp  the  laws  of  nature 
and  nations,  and  unfolding  them,  at  once  with  all  the 
convictions  of  reason  and  all  the  persuasions  of  elo 
quence,  to  demonstrate  the  rights  of  his  countrymen 
to  the  contested  Navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the 
Hall  of  Congress.  Follow  him  with  this  trace  in  his 
hand,  through  a  long  series  of  years,  by  laborious 
travels  and  intricate  Negotiations,  at  Imperial  Courts, 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  293 

and  in  the  Palaces  of  Kings,  winding  his  way  amidst 
the  ferocious  and  party  colored  Revolutions  of  France 
and  the  life-guard  favorites  and  Camarillas  of  Spain. 
Then  look  at  the  map  of  United  North  America,  as  it 
was  at  the  definite  peace  of  1783.  Compare  it  with 
the  map  of  that  same  Empire  as  it  is  now  ;  limited 
by  the  Sabine  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  say,  the 
change,  more  than  of  any  other  man,  living  or  dead, 
was  the  work  of  James  Monroe.  See  him  pass  suc 
cessively  from  the  Hall  of  the  Confederation  Congress 
to  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  his  native  Common 
wealth  ;  to  their  Convention  which  ratified  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  North  American  people  ;  to  the  Sen- 
ate  of  the  Union  ;  to  the  Chair  of  Diplomatic  Inter 
course  with  ultra  Revolutionary  France  ;  back  to  the 
Executive  honors  of  his  native  State  ;  again  to  Em 
bassies  of  transcendant  magnitude,  to  France,  to 
Spain,  to  Britain  ;  restored  once  more  to  retirement 
and  his  country  ;  elevated  again  to  the  highest  trust 
of  his  State  ;  transferred  successively  to  the  two  pre 
eminent  Departments  of  Peace  and  War,  in  the  Na 
tional  Government ;  and  at  the  most  momentous  cri 
sis  burthened  with  the  duties  of  both — and  finally 
raised,  first  by  the  suffrages  of  a  majority,  and  at  last 
by  the  unanimous  call  of  his  countrymen  to  the  Chief 
Magistracy  of  the  Union.  There  behold  him  for  a 
term  of  eight  years,  strengthening  his  country  for  de 
fence  by  a  system  of  combined  fortifications,  military 
and  naval,  sustaining  her  rights,  her  dignity  and  hon 
or  abroad  ;  soothing  her  dissensions,  and  conciliating 


294  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

her  acerbities  at  home  ;  controlling  by  a  firm  though 
peaceful  policy  the  hostile  spirit  of  the  European  Al 
liance  against  Republican  Southern  America  ;  extort 
ing  by  the  mild  compulsion  of  reason,  the  shores  of 
the  Pacific  from  the  stipulated  acknowledgment  of 
Spain  ;  and  leading  back  the  imperial  autocrat  of  the 
North,  to  his  lawful  boundaries,  from  his  hastily  asser 
ted  dominion  over  the  Southern  Ocean.  Thus  strength 
ening  and  consolidating  the  federative  edifice  of  his 
country's  Union,  till  he  was  entitled  to  say,  like  Au 
gustus  Cassar  of  his  imperial  city,  that  he  had  found 
her  built  of  brick  and  left  her  constructed  of  marble. 
In  concluding  this  discourse,  permit  me,  fellow-citi 
zens,  to  revert  to  the  sentiment  with  which  it  com 
menced  ;  and  if  it  be  true  that  a  superintending  Provi 
dence  adapts  the  talents  and  energies  of  men  to  the 
trials  by  which  they  are  to  be  tested,  it  is  fitting  for 
us  to  be  admonished  that  the  trial  may  also  be  adapt 
ed  to  the  talents  destined  to  meet  it.  Our  country 
by  the  bountiful  dispensations  of  gracious  Heaven,  is, 
and  for  a  series  of  years  has  been  blessed  with  pro 
found  peace  ;  but  when  the  first  father  of  our  race 
had  exhibited  before  him  by  the  Archangel  sent  to  an 
nounce  his  doom  and  to  console  him  in  his  fall,  the 
fortunes,  and  the  misfortunes  of  his  descendants,  he 
saw  that  the  deepest  of  their  miseries  would  befal 
them,  while  favored  with  all  the  blessings  of  peace, 
and  in  the  bitterness  of  his  anguish  he  exclaimed 

"  Now  I  see 
Peace  to  corrupt,  no  less  than  war  to  waste." 


LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE.  295 

It  is  the  very  fervor  of  the  noon-day  sun,  in  the 
cloudless  atmosphere  of  a  summer  sky,  which  breeds 

"the  sweeping  whirlwind's  sway, 
That,  hush'd  in  grim  repose,  expects  his  evening  prey." 

You  have  insured  the  gallant  ship,  which  ploughs 
the  waves,  freighted  with  your  wives  and  your  chil 
dren's  fortunes,  from  the  fury  of  the  tempest  above, 
and  from  the  treachery  of  the  wave  beneath.  Be 
ware  of  the  danger  against  which  you  can  alone  in 
sure  yourselves — the  latent  defect  of  the  gallant  ship 
herself.  Pass  but  a  few  short  days,  and  forty  years 
will  have  elapsed  since  the  voice  of  him,  who  addres 
ses  you,  speaking  to  your  fathers,  from  this  hallowed 
spot,  gave  for  you,  in  the  face  of  Heaven,  the  solemn 
pledge,  that  if,  in  the  course  of  your  career  upon 
earth,  emergencies  should  arise,  calling  for  the  exer 
cise  of  those  energies  and  virtues  which,  in  times  of 
tranquility  and  peace,  remain,  by  the  will  of  Heaven 
dormant  in  the  human  bosom,  you  would  prove  your 
selves  not  unworthy  of  the  sires  who  had  toiled  and 
fought  and  bled,  for  the  independence  of  their  coun 
try.  Nor  has  that  pledge  been  unredeemed.  You 
have  maintained,  through  times  of  trial  and  danger, 
the  inheritance  of  freedom,  of  union,  of  independence, 
bequeathed  you  by  your  forefathers.  It  remains  for 
you  only  to  transmit  the  same  peerless  legacy,  unim 
paired,  to  your  children  of  the  next  succeeding  age. 
To  this  end,  let  us  join  in  humble  supplication  to  the 
Founder  of  empires  and  the  Creator  of  all  worlds, 


296  LIFE    OF    JAMES    MONROE. 

that  he  would  continue  to  your  posterity,  the  smiles 
which  his  favor  has  been  bestowed  upon  you  :  and 
since  "  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps," 
that  he  would  enlighten  and  lead  the  advancing 
generation  in  the  way  they  should  go.  That  in  all 
the  perils  and  all  the  mischances  which  may  threaten 
or  befall  our  United  Republic,  in  after  times,  he  would 
raise  up  from  among  your  sons,  deliverers  to  enlight 
en  her  Councils,  to  defend  her  freedom,  and  if  need 
be  to  lead  her  armies  to  victory.  And  should  the 
gloom  of  the  year  of  Independence  ever  again  over 
spread  the  sky,  or  the  metropolis  of  your  empire  be 
once  more  destined  to  smart  under  the  scourge  of  an 
invader's  hand,  that  there  never  may  be  found  wan 
ting  among  the  children  of  your  country  a  warrior  to 
bleed,  a  statesman  to  counsel,  a  chief  to  direct  and 
govern,  inspired  with  all  the  virtues,  and  endowed 
with  all  the  faculties,  which  have  been  so  signally 
displayed  in  the  life  of  James  Monroe. 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 


WHILE  the  possession  of  brilliant  genius  or  talents,  - 
will  not  be  claimed  for  James  Monroe,  even  by  his  \ 
warmest  admirers,  it  will  not,  on  the  other  hand,  be 
denied,  that  he  carefully  improved  the  varied  and 
numerous  advantages  he  enjoyed,  during  a  protracted 
public  career  ;  and  that,  as  the  acquisitions  of  a  long 
experience,  he  added,  to  his  natural  prudence  and  good 
sense,  a  tact,  and  a  knowledge  of  men,  which  eminently 
fitted  him  for  a  successful  politician.  When,  there 
fore,  he  proposed,  in  1814,  as  Secretary  of  War,  his 
measure  for  the  increase  of  the  army,  to  which  the 
term  of  " conscription"  was  opprobriously,  yet  un 
justly  applied,  he  foresaw  that  it  might  seriously  affect 
his  popularity ;  and,  inasmuch  as  his  name  had  been 
proposed  as  the  successor  of  Mr.  Madison,  he  came 
to  the  deliberate  determination,  after  consultation  with 
his  confidential  friends,  to  which  he  would  unquestion 
ably  have  adhered,  to  decline  standing  as  a  candidate, 
in  the  event  of  the  continuance  of  the  war.  The 
peace,  however,  relieved  him  from  this  position  of 
embarrassment,  and  his  friends  at  once  began,  openly 
and  zealously,  to  advocate  his  selection  as  the  candi 
date  of  the  republican  party. 

Other  candidates  for  the  nomination  were  likewise 


298 

proposed  by  their  respective  friends.  In  November, 
1815,  Aaron  Burr  suggested  to  Joseph  Alston,  his  son- 
in-law,  and  ex-governor  of  South  Carolina,  the  pro 
priety  of  bringing  forward  General  Andrew  Jackson, 
of  Tennessee.  Had  this  been  done,  and  had  due 
advantage  been  taken  of  the  enthusiastic  attachment 
of  the  people  of  the  South  and  West  to  the  hero  of 
the  Creek  war,  and  the  brave  defender  of  New  Or 
leans,  the  movement  might  have  been  successful ;  but, 
in  consequence  of  severe  domestic  afflictions,  though 
concurring  with  Colonel  Burr  in  opinion,  Mr.  Alston 
was  not  disposed  to  take  any  active  part  in  the  can 
vass,  and  therefore  nothing  was  done  to  further  the 
project. 

Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  the  governor  of  New  York, 
was  also  urged,  with  some  pertinacity  at  first,  by  the 
citizens  of  his  own  state  ;  but  on  discovering  that  his 
chances  were  hopeless,  they  no  longer  pressed  his 
name ;  and  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Monroe,  within  the 
pale  of  the  republican  party,  finally  centered  on  Wil 
liam  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  who  had  succeeded  the 
former  in  the  charge  of  the  War  Department. 

The  congressional  caucus  was  held  on  the  16th  day 
of  March,  1816  ;  and  upon  balloting  for  a  candidate 
for  president,  Mr.  Monroe  received  sixty-five  votes, 
and  Mr.  Crawford  fifty-four  ;  whereupon,  the  former 
was  declared  duly  nominated.  The  opposing  candi 
dates  for  the  nomination  for  the  vice-presidency  were 
Daniel  D.  Tompkins  of  New  York,  and  Simon  Snyder 
of  Pennsylvania,  both  governors  of  their  respective 


299 

states.     On  the  ballot,   the  former  received   eighty- 
five  votes,  and  the  latter  thirty. 

Disheartened  as  were  the  federalists  as  a  party  ; 
ajid  conscious,  as  they  must  have  been,  that  their 
opposition  to  tl^e  war  of  1812,  and  their  unwise  exul 
tation  over  the  reverses  sustained  by  the  American 
troops,  prompted  rather  by  their  anxiety  to  witness 
the  disgrace  of  Mr.  Madison  than  by  any  sympathy 
for  the  British  cause,  had  greatly  diminished  the  num 
ber  of  their  friends,  and  increased  that  of  their  oppo 
nents  ;  they  were,  nevertheless,  not  yet  disposed  quite 
to  abandon  the  field.  It  was  thought  best  to  select  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency,  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
party  organization,  though  they,  of  course  did  not 
anticipate  success.  They  regarded  this  as  important, 
because  they  endeavored  to  console  themselves  with 
the  hope,  that  divisions,  by  which  they  might  profit 
if  they  remained  together,  would  soon  arise  in  the 
ranks  of  the  dominant  party.  Aware,  however,  that 
it  would  not  do  to  exhibit  their  weakness,  by  putting 
forward,  as  the  leader  of  their  forlorn  hope,  one  of 
the  ultra  opponents  of  the  war,  they  selected  as  their 
candidate,  by  general  consent,  Rufus  King,  of  New 
York,  and  formerly  of  Massachusetts,  who,  though  he 
had  originally  voted  against  the  declaration  of  war, 
had  distinguished  himself  by  his  patriotic  exertions  in 
providing  for  the  defence  of  his  adopted  state,  and  in 
assisting  to  raise  and  equip  her  volunteer  regiments 
and  militia  quotas. 

But  little  opposition  was  offered  to  the  election  of 

13* 


300  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

the  republican  candidates.  In  the  electoral  colleges, 
Messrs.  Monroe  and  Tompkins  received  one  hundred 
and  eighty-three  votes  each.  Rufus  King  received 
thirty-four  votes  for  the  office  of  president,  and  John 
E.  Howard,  of  Massachusetts,  twenty-two  for  that  of 
vice-president.  The  remaining  electoral  votes  for  the 
vice-presidency  were  given  for  different  persons. 

The  ceremony  of  the  inauguration  took  place  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1817.  Escorted  by  a  large  cavalcade 
of  citizens,  the  president  and  vice-president  elect  left 
the  residence  of  the  former,  and  proceeded  to  the  Hall 
of  Congress,  where  the  ex-president,  the  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  the  members  of  the  Senate,  some 
of  the  foreign  ministers,  and  other  official  dignitaries, 
were  already  assembled.  Entering  the  Senate-cham 
ber,  the  vice-president  took  the  oath  of  office,  and  was 
conducted  to  the  chair.  The  Senate  then  adjourned, 
and,  with  the  other  persons  present,  accompanied  the 
president  to  the  portico,  where  he  delivered  his  inau 
gural  address,  and  took  the  oath  of  office,  in  the  pre 
sence  of  his  assembled  fellow  citizens. 

It  had  become  customary  to  regard  the  inaugural 
of  a  new  president,  as  furnishing  an  index  to  the  policy 
which  would  be  pursued  during  his  administration.  It 
was,  of  course,  anticipated  by  every  one,  and  there 
fore  none  could  be  surprised  or  disappointed,. that  Mr. 
Monroe  would  follow  out  the  same  line  of  public  con 
duct  adopted  by  his  predecessor.  The  address  was 
favorably  received,  and  its  firm  and  decided,  yet  mild 
and  liberal  tone,  elicited  expressions  of  approbation  in 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  301 

every  quarter.  After  referring  to  the  highly  favored 
condition  of  the  country,  and  the  value  and  importance 
of  the  union,  he  proceeded  to  point  out  the  dangers 
that  menaced  their  existence,  and  in  what  manner 
they  should  be  guarded  against  : — 

"In  explaining  my  sentiments,"  he  said,  "  on  this 
subject,  it  may  be  asked  :  what  raised  us  to  the  present 
happy  state  1  How  did  we  accomplish  the  revolution1? 
How  remedy  the  defects  of  the  first  instrument  of  our 
union,  by  infusing  into  the  national  government  suffi 
cient  power  for  national  purposes,  without  impairing 
the  just  rights  of  the  states,  or  affecting  those  of  indi 
viduals  1  How  sustain  and  pass  with  glory  through 
the  late  war?  The  government  has  been  in  the  hands 
of  the  people.  To  the  people,  therefore,  and  to  the 
faithful  and  able  depositaries  of  their  trust,  is  the  credit 
due.  Had  the  people  of  the  United  States  been  edu 
cated  in  different  principles,  had  they  been  less  intelli 
gent,  less  independent,  or  less  virtuous,  can  it  be 
believed  that  we  should  have  maintained  the  same 
steady  and  consistent  career,  or  been  blessed  with  the 
same  success]  While,  then,  the  constituent  body 
retains  its  present  sound  and  healthful  state,  every 
thing  will  be  safe.  They  will  choose  competent  and 
faithful  representatives  for  every  department.  It  is 
only  when  the  people  become  ignorant  and  corrupt, 
when  they  degenerate  into  a  populace,  that  they  are 
incapable  of  exercising  the  sovereignty.  Usurpation 
is  then  an  easy  attainment,  and  a  usurper  soon  found. 
The  people  themselves  become  the  willing  instruments 


302  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

of  their  own  debasement  and  ruin.  Let  us  then  look 
to  the  great  cause,  and  endeavor  to  preserve  it  in  full 
force.  Let  us  by  all  wise  and  constitutional  measures 
promote  intelligence  among  the  people,  as  the  best 
means  of  preserving  our  liberties. 

"Dangers  from  abroad  are  not  less  deserving  of 
attention.  Experiencing  the  fortune  of  other  nations, 
the  United  States  may  again  be  involved  in  war,  and 
it  may,  in  that  event,  be  the  object  of  the  adverse 
party  to  overset  our  government,  to  break  our  union, 
and  demolish  us  as  a  nation.  Our  distance  from 
Europe,  and  the  just,  moderate,  and  pacific  policy  of 
our  government,  may  form  some  security  against  these 
dangers,  but  they  ought  to  be  anticipated  and  guarded 
against.  Many  of  our  citizens  are  engaged  in  com 
merce  and  navigation,  and  all  of  them  are  in  a  certain 
degree  dependent  on  their  prosperous  state.  Many 
are  engaged  in  the  fisheries.  These  interests  are  ex 
posed  to  invasion  in  the  wars  between  other  powers, 
and  we  should  disregard  the  faithful  admonitions  of 
experience  if  we  did  not  expect  it.  We  must  support 
our  rights,  or  lose  our  character,  and  with  it,  perhaps, 
our  liberties.  A  people  who  fail  to  do  it  can  scarcely 
be  said  to  hold  a  place  among  independent  nations. 
National  honor  is  national  prosperity  of  the  highest 
value.  The  sentiment  in  the  mind  of  every  citizen  is 
national  strength.  It  ought,  therefore,  to  be  cherished. 

"  To  secure  us  against  these  dangers,  our  coast  and 
inland  frontiers  should  be  fortified,  our  army  and  navy, 
regulated  upon  just  principles  as  to  the  force  of  each, 


to  be  kept  in  perfect  order,  and  our  militia  be  placed 
OH  the  best  practicable  footing.  To  put  our  extensive 
coast  in  such  a  state  of  defence  as  to  secure  our  cities 
and  interior  from  invasion,  will  be  attended  with  ex 
pense,  but  the  work,  when  finished,  will  be  permanent ; 
and  it  is  fair  to  presume  that  a  single  campaign  of 
invasion,  by  a  naval  force  superior  to  our  own,  aided 
by  a  few  thousand  land  troops,  would  expose  us  to  a 
greater  expense,  without  taking  into  the  estimate  the 
loss  of  property  and  distress  of  our  citizens,  than  would 
be  sufficient  for  this  great  work.  Our  land  and  naval 
forces  should  be  moderate,  but  adequate  to  the  neces 
sary  purposes  :  the  former  to  garrison  and  preserve 
our  fortifications  and  to  meet  the  first  invasions  of  a 
foreign  foe,  and,  while  constituting  the  elements  of  a 
greater  force,  to  preserve  the  science,  as  well  as  all 
the  necessary  implements  of  war,  in  a  state  to  be 
brought  into  activity  in  the  event  of  war ;  the  latter, 
retained  within  the  limits  proper  in  a  state  of  peace, 
might  aid  in  maintaining  the  neutrality  of  the  United 
States  with  dignity  in  the  wars  of  other  powers,  and 
in  saving  the  property  of  their  citizens  from  spoliation. 
In  time  of  war,  with  the  enlargement  of  which  the 
great  naval  resources  of  the  country  render  it  suscep 
tible,  and  which  should  be  duly  fostered  in  time  of 
peace,  it  would  contribute  essentially,  both  as  an 
auxiliary  of  defence  and  as  a  powerful  engine  of 
annoyance,  to  diminish  the  calamities  of  war,  and  to 
bring  the  war  to  a  speedy  and  honorable  termination. 
"But  it  ought  always  to  be  held  prominently  in 


304 

view,  that  the  safety  of  these  states,  and  of  every 
thing  dear  to  a  free  people,  must  depend  in  an  eminent 
degree  on  the  militia.  Invasions  may  be  made  too 
formidable  to  be  resisted  by  any  land  and  naval  force 
which  it  would  comport  either  with  the  principles  of 
our  government,  or  the  circumstances  of  the  United 
States,  to  maintain.  In  such  cases,  recourse  must  be 
had  to  the  great  body  of  the  people,  and  in  a  manner 
to  produce  the  best  effect.  It  is  of  the  highest  impor 
tance,  therefore,  that  they  be  so  organized  and  trained, 
as  to  be  prepared  for  any  emergency.  The  arrange 
ment  should  be  such  as  to  put  at  the  command  of  the 
government  the  ardent  patriotism  and  youthful  vigor 
of  the  country.  If  formed  on  equal  and  just  principles, 
it  cannot  be  oppressive.  It  is  the  crisis  which  makes 
the  pressure,  and  not  the  laws  which  provide  a  remedy 
for  it.  This  arrangement  should  be  formed,  too,  in 
time  of  peace,  to  be  the  better  prepared  for  war. 
With  such  an  organization  of  such  a  people,  the  United 
States  have  nothing  to  dread  from  foreign  invasion. 
At  its  approach  an  overwhelming  force  of  gallant 
men  might  always  be  put  in  motion. 

"Other  interests  of  high  importance  will  claim 
attention ;  among  which,  the  improvement  of  our 
country  by  roads  arid  canals,  proceeding  always  with 
a  constitutional  sanction,  holds  a  distinguished  place. 
By  thus  facilitating  the  intercourse  between  the  states, 
we  shall  add  much  to  the  convenience  and  comfort  of 
our  fellow  citizens,  much  to  the  ornament  of  the  coun 
try,  and  what  is  of  greater  importance,  we  shall 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  305 

shorten  distances,  and  by  making  each  part  more  ac 
cessible  to  and  dependent  on  the  other,  we  shall  bind 
the  union  more  closely  together.  Nature  has  done  so 
much  for  us,  by  intersecting  the  country  with  so  many 
great  rivers,  bays  and  lakes,  approaching  from  distant 
points  so  near  to  each  other,  that  the  inducement  to 
complete  the  work  seems  to  be  peculiarly  strong.  A 
more  interesting  spectacle  was  perhaps  never  seen, 
than  is  exhibited  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States ; 
a  territory  so  vast  and  advantageously  situated,  con 
taining  objects  so  grand,  so  useful,  so  happily  connected 
in  all  their  parts. 

"  Our  manufactures  will  likewise  require  the  system 
atic  and  fostering  care  of  the  government.  Possess 
ing,  as  we  do,  all  the  raw  materials,  the  fruit  of  our 
soil  and  industry,  we  ought  not  to  depend,  in  the  degree 
we  have  done,  on  supplies  from  other  countries. 
While  we  are  thus  dependent,  the  sudden  event  of 
war,  unsought  and  unexpected,  cannot  fail  to  plunge 
us  into  the  most  serious  difficulties.  It  is  important, 
too,  that  the  capital  which  nourishes  our  manufactures 
should  be  domestic,  as  its  influence  in  that  case,  instead 
of  exhausting,  as  it  may  do  in  foreign  hands,  would 
be  felt  advantageously  on  agriculture,  and  every  other 
branch  of  industry.  Equally  important  is  it  to  pro 
vide  at  home  a  'market  for  our  raw  materials,  as  by 
extending  the  competition  it  will  enhance  the  price, 
and  protect  the  cifltivator  against  the  casualties  inci 
dent  to  foreign  markets. 

"With  the  Indian  tribes  it  is  our  duty  to  cultivate 


306  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

friendly  relations,  and  to  act  with  kindness  and  liberal 
ity  in  all  our  transactions.  Equally  proper  is  it  to 
persevere  in  our  efforts  to  extend  them  the  advantages 
of  civilization. 

"  The  great  amount  of  our  revenue,  and  the  flourish 
ing  state  of  the  treasury,  are  a  full  proof  of  the  com 
petency  of  the  national  resources  for  any  emergency, 
as  they  are  of  the  willingness  of  our  fellow  citizens  to 
bear  the  burdens  which  the  public  necessities  require. 
The  vast  amount  of  vacant  lands,  the  value  of  which 
daily  augments,  forms  an  additional  resource  of  great 
extent  and  duration.  These  resources,  besides  accom 
plishing  every  other  necessary  purpose,  put  it  com 
pletely  in  the  power  of  the  United  States  to  discharge 
the  national  debt  at  an  early  period.  Peace  is  the 
time  for  improvement,  and  preparation  of  every  kind  : 
it  is  in  peace  that  our  commerce  flourishes  most,  that 
taxes  are  most  easily  paid,  and  that  the  revenue  is 
most  productive. 

"  The  executive  is  charged,  officially,  in  the  depart 
ments  under  it,  with  the  disbursement  of  the  public 
money,  and  is  responsible  for  the  faithful  application 
of  it  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  raised.  The  legis 
lature  is  the  watchful  guardian  over  the  public  purse. 
It  is  its  duty  to  see  that  the  disbursement  has  been 
honestly  made.  To  meet  the  requisite  responsibility, 
every  facility  should  be  afforded  to  the  executive,  to 
enable  it  to  bring  the  public  agents  intrusted  with  the 
public  money  strictly  and  promptly  to  account.  No 
thing  should  be  presumed  against  them  ;  but  if,  with 


307 

the  requisite  facilities,  the  public  money  is  suffered  to 
lie  long  and  uselessly  in  their  hands,  they  will  not  be 
the  only  defaulters,  nor  will  the  demoralizing  effect  be 
confined  to  them.  It  will  evince  a  relaxation  and 
want  of  tone  in  the  administration  which  will  be  felt 
by  the  whole  community.  I  shall  do  all  that  I  can  to 
secure  economy  and  fidelity  in  this  important  branch 
of  the  administration,  and  I  doubt  not  that  the  legisla 
ture  will  perform  its  duty  with  equal  zeal.  A  thor 
ough  examination  should  be  regularly  made,  and  I  will 
promote  it. 

"  It  is  particularly  gratifying  to  me  to  enter  on  the 
discharge  of  these  duties,  at  a  time  when  the  United 
States  are  blessed  with  peace.  It  is  a  state  most  con 
sistent  with  their  prosperity  and  happiness.  It  will 
be  my  sincere  desire  to  preserve  it,  so  far  as  depends  on 
the  executive,  on  just  principles,  with  all  nations,  claim 
ing  nothing  unreasonable  of  any,  and  rendering  to 
each  what  is  its  due. 

"  Equally  gratifying  is  it  to  witness  the  increased 
harmony  of  opinion  which  pervades  our  Union.  Dis 
cord  does  not  belong  to  our  system;  union  is  recom 
mended,  as  well  by  the  free  and  benign  principles  of 
our  government,  extending  its  blessings  to  every  indi 
vidual,  as  by  the  other  eminent  advantages  attending 
it.  The  American  people  have  encountered  together 
great  dangers,  and  sustained  severe  trials  with  suc 
cess.  They  constitute  one  great  family  with  a  com 
mon  interest.  Experience  has  enlightened  us  on  some 
questions  of  essential  importance  to  the  country.  The 


308  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

progress  has  been  slow,  dictated  by  a  just  reflection 
and  a  faithful  regard  to  every  interest  connected  with 
it.  To  promote  this  harmony,  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  of  our  republican  government,  and  in  a 
manner  to  give  them  the  most  complete  effect,  and  to 
advance,  in  all  other  respects,  the  best  interests  of 
our  country,  will  be  the  object  of  my  constant  and 
zealous  exertions. 

"  Never  did  a  government  commence  under  auspi 
ces  so  favorable,  nor  ever  was  success  so  complete. 
If  we  look  to  the  history  of  other  nations,  ancient  or 
modern,  we  find  no  example  of  a  growth  so  rapid,  so 
gigantic, — of  a  people  so  prosperous  and  happy.  In 
contemplating  what  we  have  still  to  perform,  the 
heart  of  every  citizen  must  expand  with  joy,  when  he 
reflects  how  near  our  government  has  approached  to 
perfection  ;  that  in  respect  to  it,  we  have  no  essential 
improvement  to  make  ;  that  the  great  object  is  to 
preserve  it  in  the  essential  principles  and  features 
which  characterize  it,  and  that  that  is  to  be  done  by 
preserving  the  virtue  and  enlightening  the  minds  of 
the  people  ;  and  as  a  security  against  foreign  dan 
gers  to  adopt  such  arrangements  as  are  indispensable 
to  the  support  of  our  independence,  our  rights  and 
liberties.  If  we  persevere  in  the  career  in  which  we 
have  advanced  so  far,  and  in  the  path  already  traced, 
we  cannot  fail,  under  the  favor  of  a  gracious  Provi 
dence,  to  attain  the  high  destiny  which  seems  to 
await  us. 

"In    the    administrations    of  the    illustrious   men 


309 

who  have  preceded  me  in  this  high  station,  with  some 
of  whom  I  have  been  connected  by  the  closest  ties 
from  early  life,  examples  are  presented  which  will  al 
ways  be  found  highly  instructive  and  useful  to  their 
successors.  From  these  I  shall  endeavor  to  derive  all 
the  advantages  which  they  may  afford.  Of  my  im 
mediate  predecessor  under  whom  so  important  a  por 
tion  of  this  great  and  successful  experiment  has  been 
made,  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  expressing  my  earnest 
wishes,  that  he  may  long  enjoy  in  his  retirement,  the 
affections  of  a  grateful  country,  the  best  reward  of 
exalted  talents  and  the  most  faithful  and  meritorious 
services.  Relying  on  the  aid  to  be  derived  from  the 
other  departments  of  government,  I  enter  on  the  trust 
to  which  I  have  been  called  by  the  suffrages  of  my 
fellow  citizens,  with  my  fervent  prayers  to  the  Al 
mighty  that  he  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  continue 
to  us  that  protection  which  he  has  already  so  conspic 
uously  displayed  in  our  favor." 

Mr.  Monroe  selected  his  cabinet  from  among  his 
own  party  friends, — those,  too,  who  had  been  in  favor 
of  the  war.  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  minister  to 
England,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  ;  William 
H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  was  appointed  Secretary 
the  Treasury,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Dallas,  who  had 
resigned  the  office  in  the  fall  of  1816,  and  died  in  the 
following  January  ;  and  Isaac  Shelby,  governor  of 
Kentucky,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  war.  Mr. 
Crowninshield  was  continued  in  office  as  Secretary 
of  the  navy,  Mr.  Rush  as  attorney  general,  and  Mr. 


310  MONROES    ADMINISTRATION. 

Meigs  as  postmaster  general.  Governor  Shelby  sub 
sequently  declined  the  appointment  tendered  to  him, 
on  account  of  his  advanced  age  ;  and  John  C.  Calhoun 
of  South  Carolina,  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 

In  regard  to  the  minor  offices,  Mr.  Monroe  pursued 
nearly  the  same  course.  A  large  proportion  of  them 
were  already  filled  by  republicans,  and  with  respect 
to  them, — fortunately,  perhaps,  for  his  own  populari 
ty, — he  was  not  required  to  give  dissatisfaction  to  any 
of  his  friends,  by  making  selections,  and  indicating  his 
preferences.  The  federalists  had  nothing  to  hope 
from  him  ;  his  course  as  minister  to  France  and  Sec 
retary  of  State  had  rendered  him  particularly  obnox 
ious  to  them  ;  and  he  had  shown,  throughout  his  whole 
public  care  r,  that  his  party  predilections  were  strong 
and  decided.  Previous  to  his  inauguration,  he  had 
been  counselled  by  General  Jackson,  with  whom  he 
was  on  terms  of  friendly  intimacy,  to  disregard  parti 
san  considerations  in  the  construction  of  his  cabinet, 
and  the  bestowal  of  offices,  and  to  appoint  the  best 
men,  irrespective  of , their  political  affinities  ;  in  order 
that,  by  so  doing,  the  bitterness  of  party  spirit  might 
be  allayed,  and,  as  the  great  majority  of  the  federal 
ists  were,  in  truth,  republicans  at  heart,  all  might  be 
induced  to  join  with  them,  and  form  one  great  and 
united  republican  brotherhood. 

Captivating  as  was  this  advice,  in  theory,  Mr.  Mon 
roe's  experience  taught  him,  what  General  Jackson 
himself  afterwards  learned  in  a  similar  manner,  that 
it  could  not  be  easily  reduced  to  practice.  The  for- 


311 

mer  therefore  resolved,  to  appoint  none  except  his 
own  political  friends  to  office,  except  for  special  rea 
sons,  and  in  a  few  unimportant  cases  ;  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  in  so  far  as  he  might,  without  doing  vio 
lence  to  the  tenets  of  the  republican  school  in  which 
he  was  reared,  to  propose  and  encourage  the  adoption 
of  measures  of  internal  policy,  calculated  to  promote 
the  welfare,  and  advance  the  interests,  of  all  classes 
and  sections  of  his  countrymen.  He  was  favored  in 
the  object  he  had  in  view,  by  the  fact,  that  with  the 
war  had  terminated  foreign  sympathies,  and  that 
thenceforth  there  were  no  British  or  French  factions 
known  in  the  country.  While,  then,  as  a  strictly  re 
publican  president  throughout  his  whole  administra 
tion,  he  bestowed  official  favors  on  those  only  who 
had  adhered  to  Jefferson  and  Madison,  through  weal 
and  through  woe,  he  disarmed  the  hostility  of  the 
federalists,  with  few  exceptions, — and  the  latter  mani 
fested  their  unfriendly  feelings,  for  the  most  part,  only 
by  their  secret  efforts  to  foment  divisions  in  the  now 
triumphant  party, — and  secured  for  his  administra 
tion  an  unexampled  and  almost  unbounded  popu 
larity. 

But  this  whole  subject  was  discussed  so  fully  and 
so  ably  by  Mr.  Monroe,  in  his  letter  replying  to  that 
of  General  Jackson,  which  contained  the  advice  allu 
ded  to,  that  justice  to  him  requires  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  speak  for  himself :  "The  election  of  a  suc 
cessor  to  Mr.  Madison,"  says  the  letter,  "  has  taken 
place,  and  a  new  administration  is  to  commence  its 


312  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

service.  The  election  has  been  made  by  the  republi 
can  party,  and  of  a  person  known  to  be  devoted  to 
that  cause.  How  shall  he  act  1  How  organize  the 
administration'?  How  fill  the  vacancies  existing  at 
the  time? 

/  "  The  distinction  between  republicans  and  federal 
ists,  even  in  the  southern,  and  middle,  and  western 
states,  has  not  been  fully  done  away.  To  give  effect 
to  free  government,  and  secure  it  from  future  danger, 
ought  not  its  decided  friends,  who  stood  firm  in  the 
day  of  trial,  to  be  principally  relied  on  1  Would  not 
the  association  of  any  of  their  opponents  in  the  ad 
ministration  itself,  wound  their  feelings,  or,  at  least, 
of  very  many  of  them,  to  the  injury  of  the  republi 
can  cause  1  Might  it  not  be  considered,  by  the  other 
party,  as  an  offer  of  compromise  with  them,  which 
would  lessen  the  ignominy  due  to  the  counsels  which 
produced  the  Hartford  convention,  and  thereby  have 
a  tendency  to  revive  that  party  on  its  former  princi- 
J  pies  ]  My  impression  is,  that  the  administration 
should  rest  strongly  on  the  republican  party,  indulging 
toward  the  other  a  spirit  of  moderation,  and  evincing 
a  desire  to  discriminate  between  its  members,  and  to 
bring  the  whole  into  the  republican  fold  as  quietly  as 
possible.  Many  men,  very  distinguished  for  their  tal 
ents,  are  of  opinion  that  the  existence  of  the  federal 
party  is  necessary  to  keep  union  and  order  in  the  re 
publican  ranks  ;  that  is,  that  free  government  cannot 
exist  without  parties.  This  is  not  my  opinion.  The 
first  object  is  to  save  the  cause,  which  can  be  done  by 


313 

those  who  are  devoted  to  it  only,  and  of  course  by 
keeping  them  together  ;  or,  in  other  words,  by  not 
disgusting  them  by  too  hasty  an  act  of  liberality  to 
the  other  party,  thereby  breaking  the  generous  spirit 
of  the  republican  party,  and  keeping  alive  that  of  the 
federal  party.  The  second  is,  to  prevent  the  re-or 
ganization  and  revival  of  the  federal  party,  which,  if 
my  hypothesis  is  true,  that  the  existence  of  party  is 
not  necessary  to  a  free  government,  and  the  other 
opinion  which  I  have  advanced  is  well  founded,  that 
the  great  body  of  the  federal  party  are  republican, 
will  not  be  found  impracticable.  To  accomplish  both 
objects,  and  thereby  exterminate  all  party  divisions  in 
our  country,  and  give  new  strength  and  stability  to 
our  government,  is  a  great  undertaking,  not  easily  ex 
ecuted.  I  am,  nevertheless,  decidedly  of  opinion  that 
it  may  be  done  ;  and  should  the  experiment  fail,  I 
shall  conclude  that  its  failure  was  imputable  more  to 
the  want  of  a  correct  knowledge  of  all  circumstances 
claiming  attention,  and  of  sound  judgment  in  the  mea 
sures  adopted,  than  to  any  other  cause.  I  agree,  I 
think,  perfectly  with  you,  in  the  grand  object,  that 
moderation  should  be  shown  to  the  federal  party,  and 
even  a  generous  policy  be  adopted  toward  it ;  the 
only  difference  between  us  seems  to  be,  how  far  shall 
that,  spirit  be  indulged  in  the  outset  ;  and  it  is  to  make 
you  thoroughly  acquainted  with  my  views  on  this 
highly  important  subject,  that  I  have  written  you  so 
freely  upon  it." 

Mr.  Monroe  was  successful,  in  allaying  the  bitter- 


314 

ness  of  spirit,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned  ;  he  gave, 
by  his  mild  and  conciliatory  course,  the  finishing  coup 
de  grace  to  the  federalism  of  '98  ;  but  he  soon  saw 
new  divisions  produced,  and  new  combinations  form 
ed,  under  the  auspices  of  the  federal  leaders,  which 
must  have  gone  far  to  convince  him,  that  the  views  he 
had  advanced,  with  some  hesitation,  indeed,  in  his  let 
ter  to  General  Jackson,  were  opposed  to  the  genius 
and  spirit  of  the  American  people,  and  that,  until  the 
independence  of  thought  and  action  characteristic  of 
freemen  had  degenerated  into  the  most  grovelling  ef 
feminacy,  they  could  not  be  practically  illustrated. 

All  the  .preliminary  matters  requisite  for  putting  the 
new  administration  into  motion,  having  been  disposed 
of,  or  settled,  Mr.  Monroe  left  Washington  the  last 
of  May,  for  a  tour  of  inspection  and  observation 
through  the  middle,  eastern,  and  western  states  ;  it 
being  his  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  the  people 
and  learn  their  wants,  to  ascertain  how  the  machinery 
of  government,  remote  from  the  central  power,  per 
formed  its  functions,  and  to  inform  himself  in  regard 
to  the  resources  of  the  country,  and  the  means  neces 
sary  to  develop  them.  He  likewise  desired,  from  his 
own  personal  inspection,  to  discover  the  vulnerable 
points  on  the  sea-coast,  and  decide  how  and  in  what 
manner  it  would  be  best  to  provide  for  their  security. 

He  passed  through  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New- 
York,  and  the  chief  towns  in  Connecticut  and  Rhode 
Island,  to  Boston.  Then,  having  visited  most  of  the 
places  of  interest  in  Massachusetts,  he  travelled 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  315 

through  Maine,  New-Hampshire,  and  Vermont.  From 
the  latter  state  he  crossed  over  to  Plattsburgh,  in 
New-York,  and  traversed  the  country  intervening  be 
tween  the  Champlain  and  St.  Lawrence.  The  public 
works  on  Lake  Ontario  were  inspected,  and  he  then 
proceeded  to  Detroit,  by  way  of  Lake  Erie.  From 
Detroit  he  returned  to  the  seat  of  government,  through 
the  forests  of  Michigan  territory,  and  the  states  of 
Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland.  Few  of  the  fa 
cilities  for  travelling  at  present  enjoyed  were  then 
known,  and  the  journey  was  consequently  long,  labo 
rious,  and  fatiguing  ;  yet  he  was  cheered  everywhere 
on  his  route,  by  the  demonstrations  of  respect  mani 
fested  towards  him.  Political  friends  and  opponents 
cordially  united  in  tendering  to  him  a  cordial  recep 
tion.  Wherever  he  went  he  was  sure  to  meet  with  a 
heaTty  welcome  ;  and  he,  in  turn,  won  many  friends 
by  the  suavity  and  agreeableness  of  his  manners,  and 
deep  and  sincere  interest  that  he  exhibited  in  every 
thing  brought  under  his  notice  or  observation. 

The  fifteenth  Congress  assembled  for  its  first  regu 
lar  session,  on  the  first  day  of  December,  1817,  and 
adjourned  on  the  20th  of  April  following.  The  repub 
licans  were  in  a  large  majority  ;  there  being  but  very 
few  prominent  federalists  returned  to  this  Congress. 
Rufus  King,  of  New  York,  Harrison  G.  Otis,  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  and  Alexander  C.  Hanson,  of  Maryland, 
were  the  only  prominent  federalists  in  the  Senate  ; 
and  Mr.  King  was  already  more  than  suspected  of  a 

design — which  suspicion  subsequently  proved  true — to 

14 


316  MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION. 

abandon  the  falling  fortunes  of  his  party.  Timothy 
Pitkin,  of  Connecticut,  still  retained  his  seat  in  the 
House,  but  vacated  it  at  the  close  of  this  Congress. 
Associated  with  him  in  sentiment,  were  Henry  Shaw, 
of  Massachusetts,  and  John  Sergeant  of  Pennsyl 
vania. 

Among  the  republicans  in  the  Senate,  were  George 
W.  Campbell,  of  Tennessee,  late  Secretary  of  the 
treasury  ;  James  Fisk,  of  Vermont ;  Mahlon  Dicker- 
son,  of  New  Jersey  ;  James  Barbour  and  John  W. 
Eppes,  of  Virginia  ;  Nathaniel  Macon,  of  North  Caro 
lina  ;  John  Gaillard,  of  South  Carolina  ;  William  C. 
C.  ClaiboYne,  of  Louisiana  ;  and  John  J.  Crittenden, 
of  Kentucky.  The  leading  republican  members  of 
the  House  of  Reprsentatives,  were  Marcus  Morton, 
of  Massachusetts  ;  John  W.  Taylor  a,nd  James  Tall- 
madge,  of  New-York  ;  Adam  Seybert  of  Pennsylva 
nia  ;  Louis  McLane,  of  Delaware  ;  Samuel  Smith, 
of  Maryland  ;  Philip  P.  Barbour,  William  A.  Bur- 
well,  John  Floyd,  and  Charles  F.  Mercer,  of  Virginia  ; 
William  Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina ;  John  Forsyth, 
of  Georgia  ;  and  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky. 

Mr.  Clay  was  re-elected  speaker  of  the  House  by 
an  almost  unanimous  vote  ;  and  both  that  body  and 
the  Senate  having  completed  their  organization,  on 
the  2d  of  December,  the  president  communicated  his 
annual  message.  After  remarking  on  the  happy  and 
prosperous  condition  of  the  countay,  the  revival  of 
business  consequent  on  the  restoration  of  tranquility, 
the  re-establishment  of  public  and  private  credit,  and 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  317 

the  harmony  of  sentiment  now  generally  prevailing 
instead  of  the  bitter  and  violent  prejudices  that  for 
merly  existed,  he  informed  Congress  that  an  amicable 
arrangement  had  been  entered  into  with  Great  Brit 
ain,  providing  for  the  reduction  of  the  naval  force  of 
both  powers  on  the  lakes  ;  that  negotiations  with 
Spain  on  the  subject  of  spoliations  were  still  pending, 
but  with  every  reasonable  prospect  of  a  favorable  ter 
mination  ;  and  that  with  other  nations  and  powers,  the 
relations  of  the  United  States,  were  on  a  friendly 
footing. 

A  gratifying  view  of  the  finances  of  the  country 
was  presented  :  "  In  calling  your  attention,"  he  said, 
"to  the  internal  concerns  of  our  country,  the  view 
which  they  exhibit  is  peculiarly  gratifying.  The  pay 
ments  which  have  been  made  into  the  treasury  show 
the  very  productive  state  of  the  public  revenue.  Af 
ter  satisfying  the  appropriations  made  by  law  for  the 
support  of  the  civil  government,  and  of  the  military 
and  naval  establishments,  embracing  suitable  provision 
for  fortification,  and  for  the  gradual  increase  of  the 
navy,  paying  the  interest  of  the  public  debt,  and  ex 
tinguishing  more  than  eighteen  millions  of  the  princi 
pal,  within  the  present  year,  it  is  estimated  that  a  bal 
ance  of  more  than  six  millions  of  dollars  will  remain 
in  the  treasury  on  the  first  day  of  January,  applicable 
to  the  current  service  of  the  ensuing  year. 

"  The  payments  into  the  treasury  during  the  year 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighteen,  on  account 
of  imports  and  tonnage,  resulting  principally  from  du- 


318 

ties  which  have  accrued  in  the  present  year,  may  be 
fairly  estimated  at  twenty  millions  of  dollars  ;  inter 
nal  revenues,  at  two  millions  five  hundred  thousand  ; 
public  lands,  at  one  million  five  hundred  thousand;  bank 
dividends  and  incidental  receipts,  at  five  hundred  thou 
sand  ;  making,  in  the  whole,  twenty-four  millions  and 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

"  The  annual  permanent  expenditure  for  the  sup 
port  of  the  civil  government,  and  of  the  army  and 
navy,  as  now  established  by  law,  amounts  to  eleven 
millions  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  ;  and  for  the 
sinking  fund,  to  ten  millions ;  making,  in  the  whole, 
twenty  one  millions  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars : 
leaving  an  annual  excess  of  revenue,  beyond  the  ex 
penditure,  of  two  millions  seven  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  exclusive  of  the  balance  estimated  to  be  in  the 
treasury  on  the  first  day  of  January,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eighteen. 

"  In  the  present  state  of  the  treasury,  the  whole 
of  the  Louisiana  debt  may  be  redeemed  in  the  year 
1819  ;  after  which,  if  the  public  debt  continues  as  it 
now  is,  above  par,  there  will  be  annually  about  five 
millions  of  the  sinking  fund  expended,  until  the  year 
1825,  when  the  loan  of  1812,  and  the  stock  created 
by  funding  treasury-notes,  will  be  redeemable. 

"  It  is  also  estimated  that  the  Mississippi  stock  will 
be  discharged  during  the  year  1819  from  the  proceeds 
of  the  public  lands  assigned  to  that  object,  after  which 
the  receipts  from  those  lands  will  annually  add  to  the 
public  revenue  the  sum  of  one  million  five  hundred 


319 

thousand  dollars,  making  the  permanent  annual  reve 
nue  amount  to  twenty  six  millions  of  dollars,  and  leav 
ing  an  annual  excess  of  revenue,  after  the  year  1819, 
beyond  the  permanent  authorized  expenditure,  of  more 
than  four  millions  of  dollars." 

The  message  then  called  the  attention  of  Congress 
to  the  importance  of  making  provision  for  the  improve 
ment,  in  organization  and  discipline,  of  the  militia  ; 
the  advancement  of  the  liberal  and  humane  policy  of 
the  government  towards  the  Indian  tribes  ;  and  the 
fortification  of  the  sea-coast.  As  the  revenue  arising 
from  imposts  and  tonnage,  and  from  the  sale  of  the 
public  lands,  promised  in  future  to  be  amply  sufficient 
for  the  support  of  the  government,  the  president  re 
commended  the  repeal  of  the  internal  taxes.  He  also 
recommended  the  continued  attention  of  Congress  to 
the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  country  ;  and  the 
adoption,  by  the  states,  of  an  amendment  to  the  na 
tional  constitution,  authorizing  the  proceeds  of  the 
public  lands  to  be  expended  on  objects  of  general  im 
provement.  His  language  on  the  latter  subject  was 
as  follows  : — 

"When  we  consider  the  vast  extent  of  territory 
within  the  United  States,  the  great  amount  and  value 
of  its  productions,  the  connection  of  its  parts,  and 
other  circumstances  on  which  their  prosperity  and 
happiness  depend,  we  cannot  fail  to  entertain  a  high 
sense  of  the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  the  facility 
which  may  be  afforded  in  the  intercourse  between 
them,  by  means  of  good  roads  and  canals.  Never  did 


320  MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION. 

a  country  of  such  vast  extent  offer  equal  inducements 
to  improvements  of  this  kind,  nor  ever  were  conse 
quences  of  such  magnitude  involved  in  them.  As 
this  subject  was  acted  on  by  Congress  at  the  last  ses 
sion,  and  there  may  be  a  disposition  to  revive  it  at 
present,  I  have  brought  it  into  view  for  the  purpose 
of  communicating  my  sentiments  on  a  very  important 
circumstance  connected  with  it,  with  that  freedom  and 
candor  which  a  regard  for  the  public  interest  and  a 
proper  respect  for  Congress  require.  A  difference  of 
opinion  has  existed,  from  the  first  formation  of  our 
Constitution  to  the  present  time,  among  our  most  en 
lightened  and  virtuous  citizens,  respecting  the  right 
of  Congress  to  establish  such  a  system  of  improve 
ment.  Taking  into  view  the  trust  with  which  I  am 
now  honored,  it  would  be  improper,  after  what  has 
passed,  that  this  discussion  should  be  revived  with  an 
uncertainty  of  my  opinion  respecting  the  right.  Dis 
regarding  early  impressions,  I  have  bestowed  on  the 
subject  all  the  deliberation  which  its  great  importance, 
and  a  just  sense  of  my  duty,  required,  and  the  result 
is  a  settled  conviction  in  my  mind,  that  Congress  do 
not  possess  the  right.  It  is  not  contained  in  any  of 
the  specified  powers  granted  to  Congress,  nor  can  I 
consider  it  incidental  to,  or  a  necessary  means,  view 
ed  on  the  most  liberal  scale,  for  carrying  into  effect 
any  of  the  powers  which  are  specifically  granted. 
In  communicating  this  result,  I  can  not  resist  the  obli 
gation  which  I  feel,  to  suggest  to  Congress  the  pro 
priety  of  recommending  to  the  states  an  adoption  of 


MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  321 

an  amendment  to  the  constitution,  which  shall  give 
the  right  in  question.  In  cases  of  doubtful  construc 
tion,  especially  of  such  vital  interest,  it  comports  with 
the  nature  and  origin  of  our  republican  institutions, 
and  will  contribute  much  to  preserve  them,  to  apply 
to  our  constituents  for  an  explicit  grant  of  the  power. 
We  may  confidently  rely,  that  if  it  appears  to  their 
satisfaction  that  the  power  is  necessary,  it  will  be 
granted. 

"  In  this  case  I  am  happy  to  observe,  that  experi 
ence  has  afforded  the  most  ample  proof  of  its  utility, 
and  that  the  benign  spirit  of  conciliation  and  harmony 
which  now  manifests  itself  throughout  our  union 
promises  to  such  a  recommendation  the  most  prompt 
and  favorable  result.  I  think  proper  to  suggest,  also, 
in  case  this  measure  is  adopted,  that  it  be  recommen 
ded  to  the  states  to  include  in  the  amendment  sought, 
a  right  in  Congress  to  institute  likewise,  seminaries  of 
learning,  for  the  all  important  purpose  of  diffusing 
knowledge  among  our  fellow-citizens  throughout  the 
United  States." 

Almost  the  first  business,  after  the  opening  of  the 
session  of  Congress,  was  that  of  relieving  the  people 
from  the  pecuniary  burdens  imposed  during  the  war. 
Foremost  among  the  advocates  of  the  payment  of  the 
public  debt,  were  the  men  by  whose  votes  the  war 
had  been  declared,  and  the  debt  created.  Headed  by 
William  Lowndes,  the  able  and  energetic  chairman  of 
the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  they  promptly  sus 
tained  such  measures  as  were  necessary  to  provide 


322 

for  the  liquidation  of  the  liabilities  of  the  general  gov 
ernment  ;    and   the  good  work  commenced  through 
their  instrumentality,  and  under  their   auspices,   was 
finally  completed  during  the  administration  of  Andrew 
Jackson.  » 

Mississippi  having  adopted  a  state  constitution,  and 
presented  the  same  through  her  delegate,  she  was  ac 
knowledged  as  a  sovereign  and  independent  member 
of  the  confederacy,  and  duly  admitted  into  the  union, 
on  the  llth  day  of  December,  1817.  In  April  fol 
lowing,  the  people  of  Illinois  territory  were  author 
ized,  in  like  manner,  to  form  a  state  government,  and 
adopt  a  state  constitution,  preparatory  to  their  ad 
mission  into  the  union. 

The  internal  duties  were  early  abolished  by  act  of 
Congress.  Laws  were  also  enacted  at  this  session, 
fixing  the  compensation  of  Senators  and  members  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  at  eight  dollars  per 
day,  and  eight  dollars  for  ever^  twenty  miles'  travel  ; 
and  granting  pensions  to  the  surviving  officers  and  sol 
diers  of  the  revolutionary  war.  Great  Britain  having 
refused,  in  accordance  with  the  monopolizing  and  sel 
fish  spirit  that  ever  characterized  her  colonial  policy, 
to  allow  her  West  Indian  colonies  to  carry  on  a  di 
rect  trade  with  the  United  States,  on  the  same  footing 
with  the  home  government,  a  retaliatory  act  was 
passed  closing  our  ports  against  British  vessels  coming 
from  any  such  colony  whose  trade  was  thus  interdic 
ted.  Early  in  the  year  1817,  a  band  of  privateers 
and  smugglers  had  taken  possession  of  Galveston,  in 


323 

Texas,  then  claimed  to  be  a  part  of  the  United  States 
under  the  cession  of  Louisiana  ;  and  an  establishment 
had  been  made  by  similar  persons,  in  the  summer,  on 
Amelia  Island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary's  river. 
The  individuals  concerned  in  these  proceedings  claimed 
to  act  under  the  authority  of  the  Spanish  colonies, 
then  waging  war  for  independence  with  the  mother 
country  :  and  it  being  understood  that  a  hostile  enter 
prise  against  the  Floridas  was  on  foot,  in  which  aid 
and  assistance  were  expected  from  certain  residents 
of  the  United  States,  the  American  Congress  promptly 
passed  a  law  forbidding  the  citizens  thereof  to  engage 
in  any  such  project  directed  against  the  subjects  or 
possessions  of  any  government  with  which  we  W7ere 
at  peace.  Both  establishments  were  subsequently 
broken  up,  by  the  officers  or  agents  of  the  United 
States,  under  the  direction  of  President  Monroe. 

Internal  duties  having  been  abolished,  it  became 
necessary  to  provide  some  means  for  raising  the  rev 
enue  required  for  the  support  of  government ;  and 
there  was  a  powerful  feeling  manifested  at  this  time 
in  favor  of  affording  protection  to  the  infant  manufac 
tures  of  the  country.  Both  circumstances  combined — 
necessity  on  the  one  hand,  and  interest  on  the  other — 
to  create  a  strong  party  who  were  in  favor  of  the 
imposition  of  duties  avowedly  protective.  The  duties 
on  copper,  cut-glass,  Russia  sheetings,  iron,  nails,  and 
alurn,  were  largely  increased  ;  and  a  law  was  passed 
extending  the  act  of  1816,  laying  duties  on  imported 

cotton  and  woollen  goods,  for  a  further  period  of  seven 

14* 


324 

years.  Such  was  the  unanimity  in  Congress  on  this 
subject,  that  on  the  passage  of  the  last  mentioned  act, 
there  were  but  three  dissenting  voices  in  the  Senate, 
and  only  sixteen  in  the  House. 

The  subject  of  internal  improvements,  to  which  the 
President  had  referred  at  such  length  in  his  message, 
early  engaged  the  attention  of  Congress.  Mr.  Clay 
zealously  advocated  the  passage  of  laws  providing  for 
an  extensive  system  of  internal  improvements  ;  but 
those  members  of  Congress  understood  to  be  more  in 
the  confidence  of  the  president,  combatted  his  views 
with  equal  earnestness,  and  opposed  the  adoption  of 
any  system  or  measure  relating  to  the  subject,  at  least 
until  the  constitution  had  been  properly  amended,  so 
as  to  confer  the  power.  The  committee  in  the  House, 
to  whom  the  consideration  of  the  question  was  referred, 
made  a  report  in  favor  of  appropriating  the  dividends 
of  the  United  States  on  its  stock  in  the  national  bank 
to  such  objects.  This  project  at  once  encountered 
opposition.  Repeated  debates,  of  a  most  excited  and 
interesting  character — the  main  question  discussed 
being  the  constitutionality  of  the  measure — took  place 
in  both  houses.  At  one  stage  of  the  discussion,  a  vote 
was  taken  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  indicating 
a  majority  of  fifteen  in  favor  of  such  appropriation  of 
the  public  funds.  It  was  soon  whispered  about,  how 
ever,  in  the  political  circles  of  the  capital,  that  the 
president  would  feel  constrained,  in  conformity  with 
the  views  and  principles  he  had  avowed  in  his  mes* 
sage,  to  veto  any  bill  of  that  character  presented  to 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  825 

him  for  his  signature,  prior  to  the  amendment  of  the 
constitution  which  he  had  suggested.  The  whole 
subject  was,  therefore,  ultimately  disposed  of,  by  a 
postponement  to  a  future  day,  and  was  not  called  up, 
or  again  acted  on,  during  the  session. 

This  session  was  also  signalised  by  the  introduction 
of  a  proposition  which  afterwards  formed  one  of  the 
questions  in  difference  between  the  republican  party, 
and  the  seceders  therefrom  under  the  leadership  of 
John  Quincy  Adams  and  Henry  Clay.  The  latter 
gentleman  moved  an  appropriation  providing  for  a 
special  minister  to  Buenos  Ayres  and  the  provinces  of 
La  Plata,  to  express  the  sympathy  of  the  United  States 
with  them  in  their  struggle  for  independence,  and  to 
open  the  way  for  the  establishment  of  future  political 
relations  on  a  friendly  footing.  Mr.  Forsyth,  who 
had  been  transferred  to  the  House,  and  other  republi 
can  members,  denounced  the  measure  as  in  fact  adopt 
ing  the  doctrines  of  the  Holy  Alliance,  in  the  condem 
nation  of  which  all  united,  and  attempting  to  engraft 
them  upon  the  foreign  policy  of  the  United  States,  as 
connected  with  the  republics  in  South  America,  then 
first  struggling  into  existence.  Mr.  Clay  defended  his 
motion  in  an  able,  animated,  and  eloquent  speech  ;  in 
which  he  maintained  that  his  only  object  was  to  en 
courage  the  South  American  patriots  in  well  doing, 
and  that  he  had  no  ulterior  designs  in  view,  save  that 
of  establishing  friendly  relations  \vith  the  new  govern 
ments  that  might  be  formed,  which  all  must  admit  to 
be  highly  desirable.  A  majority,  however,  thought 


326  MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION.. 

differently  from  Mr.  Clay,  and  his  motion  was  lost  by 
a  vote  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  to  forty-five. 

Notwithstanding  the  exciting  debates  to  which  these 
discussions  gave  rise,  general  harmony  prevailed 
throughout  the  whole  session.  With  the  war  termi 
nated  the  exhibition  of  the  foreign  sympathies  which 
previous  thereto  had  been  so  often  witnessed.  There 
was  no  longer  a  French  party,  or  a  British  party. 
Old  prejudices  were  not  entirely  done  away,  but  they 
were  now  manifested  mainly  in  the  personal  rivalries 
that  succeeded  the  violent  contests  of  the  former 
administration.  ^JHi£  fiifis  of.  party-wej^not,  it  is  true, 
entirely  subdued ;  they  only  smouldered  for  the  time, 
ready  to  burst  out  anew,  when  new  combinations  and 
factions  should  be  formed.  Yet  this  was  postponed 
till  after  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Monroe  from  the 
executive  chair,  and  during  the  remainder  of  his  ad 
ministration,  there  is  little  left  for  the  historian  to 
chronicle,  save  the  proceedings  of  the  members  of 
Congress  at  their  annual  sessions,  who  for  the  most 
part  assembled  together  in  peace,  and  separated  in 
unity. 

While  Congress  was  in  session,  during  the  winter 
of  1817-18,  some  changes  had  been  made  in  the  cabi 
net.  John  C.  Calhoun,  of  South  Carolina,  was  ap 
pointed  Secretary  of  War,  in  the  place  of  Governor 
Shelby,  who  declined  the  appointment,  on  the  16th  of 
December,  1817.  and,  on  the  same  day,  William  Wirt, 
of  Virginia,  was  appointed  attorney-general,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Rush, 
who  was  sent  as  minister  to  England. 


327 

Shortly  after  Congress  adjourned,  the  President,  ac 
companied  by  the  Secretaries  of  war  and  the  navy, 
visited  the  towns  and  coasts  of  Chesapeake  bay,  on  a 
tour  of  inspection,  in  order  to  ascertain  how  they 
might  be  the  most  effectually  protected  against  an  in 
vading  enemy,  and  returned  again  to  Washington, 
through  the  interior  of  Virginia.  He  arrived  at  the 
seat  of  government  on  the  17th  of  June,  having  been 
much  gratified  by  the  respectful  attentions  everywhere 
paid  to  him  by  his  fellow-citizens. 

Repeated  outrages  having  been  committed  on  the 
southern  frontiers  of  the  union,  in  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1817,  by  the  Creek  and  Seminole  Indians,  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  Florida,  after  their  discomfiture 
by  General  Jackson  in  the  campaign  of  1813 — 14, 
prompt  measures  were  adopted  for  the  punishment  of 
their  perpetrators,  and  the  protection  of  the  citizens 
against  further  aggressions.  General  Jackson  was  ac 
cordingly  authorized  to  take  command  of  the  troops  in 
that  quarter,  and  to  inflict  exemplary  punishment  upon 
the  savages  ;  he  being  further  empowered  to  pur 
sue  them  into  the  Floridian  territory,  if,  in  his  opinion, 
it  should  be  absolutely  necessary.  In  the  course  of 
his  operations,  General  Jackson  obtained  irrefragable 
evidence  that  the  hostile  Indians  received  aid  and  en 
couragement  from  the  Spanish  authorities  of  Florida; 
and  he  became  fully  convinced  that  the  peace  and  se 
curity  of  the  frontier  were  entirely  out  of  the  ques 
tion,  while  the  abettors  of  murder  and  rapine  retain 
ed  the  power  they  had  hitherto  wielded.  Influenced 


328  MONROE  S    ADMINISTRATION. 

by  these  considerations,  he  not  only  pursued  the  sava 
ges 'into  the  Spanish  territory,  but  drove  them  to  take 
refuge  in  the  everglades  and  swamps  of  southern 
Florida,  and  completed  the  restoration  of  tranquility 
by  taking  military  possession  of  St.  Marks  and  Pen- 
sacola. 

jCorfgress  again  came  together  on  the  10th  of  No 
vember,  1818,  when  the  president  apprised  them  of 
the  proceedings  which  had  taken  place  in  Florida,  and 
expressed  his  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  General 
Jackson.  He  further  stated,  however,  that  inasmuch 
as  negotiations  were  then  pending  with  Spain  for  the 
cession  of  the  Floridas  in  payment  of  the  American 
colonies  for  spoliations,  and  as  it  was  not  to  be  pre 
sumed  that  the  Spanish  officers  acted  under  the  or 
ders  of  their  government,  he  had  directed  Pensacola 
to  be  immediately  surrendered  to  any  person  author 
ized  to  receive  it,  and  St.  Marks  to  any  force  sufficient 
to  protect  it  against  the  savages  and  their  associates. 
Efforts  were  forthwith  made  in  Congress  to  procure  a 
vote  censuring  the  conduct  of  General  Jackson,  whose 
fast  increasing  popularity  had,  in  all  probability,  al 
ready  excited  the  envy  of  politicians.  Mr.  Clay  and 
Mr.  Calhoun  in  particular  favored  this  movement  ; 
but  the  president  himself,  and  Mr.  Adams,  the  secre 
tary  of  state,  who  had  charge  of  the  Spanish  negoti 
ation,  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  American 
commander.  Committees  in  both  houses  made  reports 
disapproving  of  the  general's  proceedings.  In  the 
Senate  all  further  action  was  suspended,  on  the  ap- 


329 

pearance  of  an  able  vindication  of  his  conduct,  writ 
ten  by  himself,  in  the  columns  of  the  National  Intelli 
gencer.  The  House  committee  had  reported,  in  ad 
dition,  strong  resolutions  of  censure;  but  after  an 
animated  discussion,  they  were  rejected  by  a  very 
large  majority. 

It  appeared  from  the  message  of  the  president,  that 
the  receipts  into  the  treasury  during  the  first  three 
quarters  of  the  year  had  exceeded  seventeen  millions 
of  dollars,  and  that,  after  the  payment  of  all  existing 
appropriations,  there  would  probably  remain  a  surplus 
on  the  ensuing  first  day  of  January,  of  more  than  two 
millions  of  dollars.  The  gross  revenue  accruing  from 
the  customs  during  the  whole  year,  was  estimated  at 
twenty-six  millions  of  dollars  ;  and  it  was  further 
stated,  that  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  had  greatly 
exceeded,  both  in  quantity  and  price,  that  of  any  for 
mer  year. 

Mr.  Crowninshield  resigned  his  position  in  the  cabi 
net,  in  consequence  of  declining  health,  on  the  18th 
of  November,  1818,  and  on  the  same  da}'  Smith 
Thompson,  of  New-York,  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  the  navy  in  his  stead. 

After  considerable  diplomatic  maneuvering,  Mr. 
Rush  had  finally  induced  the  British  government  to 
enter  into  a  convention,  on  the  20th  of  October,  1818, 
conceding  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  the 
right  to  take  fish,  in  common  with  the  subjects  of 
Great  Britain,  on  the  northern,  western,  and  southern 
coasts  of  New  Foundlarid  ;  establishing  the  boundary 


330 

of  the  United  States  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  the  49th  parallel,  north  lati 
tude  ;  and  extending  the  commercial  convention  be 
tween  the  two  countries,  concluded  in  1815,  for  the 
term  of  ten  years.  Mr.  Rush  made  an  ineffectual  at 
tempt  to  have  the  boundary  line  established  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  settlement  of  that 
vexed  question  was  left  for  future  negotiators.  The 
convention  having  been  submitted  to  the  Senate,  it 
was  ratified  by  that  body  on  the  28th  of  January, 
1819. 

The  seizure  of  the  Spanish  ports  in  Florida  did  not 
prevent  the  amicable  issue  of  the  negotiations  then 
pending  ;  and  on  the  22d  of  February,  a  treaty  was 
concluded  at  Washington,  by  John  Quincy  Adams, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  Senor  Luis  de 
Onis,  the  Spanish  Envoy,  in  pursuance  of  which  East 
and  West  Florida,  with  the  adjacent  islands,  were 
forever  ceded  to  the  United  States.  In  consideration 
of  this  cession,  the  United  States  agreed  to  waive  all 
her  claims  to  the  territory  between  the  Sabine  and  the 
Rio  Bravo,  hitherto  in  dispute,  and  that  the  former 
river  should  henceforth  be  the  boundary  between 
them  and  the  Spanish  Mexican  possessions  ;  and  fur 
ther,  that  they  would  pay  a  sum  not  exceeding  five 
millions  of  dollars,  to  their  citizens,  for  spoliations 
committed  by  Spanish  vessels  of  war.  The  provi 
sions  of  this  treaty  were  unsparingly  condemned  by 
many  of  the  republican  members  of  congress,  and  Mr. 
Clay  denounced  it  in  the  most  violent  terms,  on  the 


331 

floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Some  de 
clared  that  Texas  had  been  given  away  without  a  suit 
able  equivalent  ;  and  others  again  insisted  that  the 
Rio  Grande  was  the  natural  boundary  of  the  United 
States  on  the  southeast,  and  ought  never  to  have  been 
surrendered.  The  treaty,  however,  was  unanimously 
ratified  in  the  Senate,  and  all  circumstances  consider 
ed,  was  probably  as  good  a  one  as  could  then  have 
been  obtained.  The  possession  of  the  Floridas  gave 
to  the  United  States  the  entire  control  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  coasts,  from  the  St.  Croix  to  the  Sabine,  and, 
in  the  bay  of  Pensacola,  supplied  them  with  what  had 
been  a  great  desideratum — a  suitable  naval  depot  and 
harbor  on  their  southern  frontier. 

Illinois  was  admitted  into  the  union  as  a  state,  by 
resolution  adopted  on  the  3d  day  of  December  1818. 
Alabama  territory  was  also  authorized  to  adopt  a  state 
constitution  at  this  session,  and  a  territorial  govern 
ment  was  provided  for  Arkansas. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  3d  of  March,  1819,  hav 
ing,  among  other  enactments,  passed  laws  to  protect 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  and  to  punish  pi 
racy  ;  reducing  the  rates  of  duty  on  imported  wines; 
providing  for  the  civilization  and  instruction  of  the 
Indian  tribes  ;  regulating  the  coasting  trade  ;  author 
izing  the  president  to  take  possession  of  the  Floridas, 
and  establishing  a  temporary  government  ;  and  pro 
viding  for  the  more  perfect  accountability  of  persons 
charged  with  the  receipt  and  disbursement  of  the 
public  revenues. 


332 

During  the  recess,  the  president  visited  Charleston, 
Savannah,  Augusta,  and  other  places  in  the  southern 
states,  with  the  same  objects  in  view  which  prompted 
his  former  tours  in  different  sections  of  the  country. 
Returning  he  proceeded  through  the  Cherokee  terri 
tory  to  Nashville,  and  thence,  by  the  way  of  Louis 
ville  and  Lexington,  to  Washington,  where  he  arrived 
early  in  the  month  of  August. 

In  the  sixteenth  Congress,  the  republicans  were  in 
an  unusually  large  majority.  Messrs.  Dickerson,  J. 
Barbour,  Macon,  and  Gaillard,  of  the  republican,  and 
Mr.  Otis,  of  the  federal  party,  still  remained  in  the 
Senate.  The  seat  of  Rufus  King  was  temporarily  va 
cated,  but  in  January,  1820,  he  was  re-elected  by  the 
combined  vote  of  his  federal  friends  and  the  Anti-Clin- 
tonians  in  the  New-York  legislature  ;  it  being  now 
understood  that  he  had  abandoned,  or  was  preparing 
to  abandon,  his  old  federal  associations.  The  new 
prominent  senators  were  Walter  Lowrie,  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  William  Pinkney,  of  Maryland  ;  William  R. 
King,  of  Alabama  ;  and  James  Brown,  of  Louis 
iana. 

In  the  House,  Mr.  Sergeant,  of  Pennsylvania,  again 
made  his  appearance  ;  with  whom,  in  political  senti 
ment,  were  associated  Henry  Shaw,  of  Massachu 
setts,  and  Samuel  A.  Foot,  of  Connecticut.  Messrs. 
Morton,  J.  W.  Taylor,  McLane,  Smith  of  Maryland, 
P.  P.  Barbour,  Burwell,  Floyd,  Mercer,  Lowndes  and 
Clay,  were  again  returned.  Among  the  new  republi 
can  members  were  Rollin  C.  Mallary,  of  Vermont  ; 


333 

Henry  W.  Edwards,  of  Connecticut  ;  John  Randolph 
of  Virginia  ;  and  Benjamin  Hardin,  of  Kentucky. 

The  first  annual  session  of  this  Congress  commenced 
on  the  6th  of  December,  1819.  Mr.  Clay  was  once 
more  re-elected  speaker  of  the  House  by  nearly  an 
unanimous  vote.  The  chambers  of  the  the  two  hou 
ses  in  the  new  capitol  being  now  nearly  completed, 
their  meetings  were  henceforth  held  in  them. 

Pecuniary  embarrassments,  at  one  time  assuming  a 
most  grave  and  threatening  appearance,  had  been  felt 
throughout  the  union  during  this  year,  but  the  condi 
tion  of  the  country  being  really  prosperous,  the  de 
rangement,  which  had  been  caused  by  excessive  spe 
culation,  and  the  over  issues  of  the  banks,  was  of  tem 
porary  duration.  Still,  the  receipts  into  the  treasury 
had  been  considerably  diminished  thereby,  and  the  pen 
sion  law  had  created  large^  additional  demands.  The 
former  were  stated  in  the  president's  message  to 
amount  to  nineteen  millions,  up  to  the  30th  of  Sep 
tember  previous,  and  would  probably  come  up  to 
twenty-three  millions  for  the  whole  year.  After  de 
fraying  all  charges  upon  the  treasury,  of  every  char 
acter,  a  considerable  surplus  would  still  remain. 

Inflations  of  the  currency,  as  has  been  intimated, 
had  promoted  speculation,  and  when  contractions  be 
came  necessary,  in  order  to  protect  the  banks  from 
complete  insolvency,  those  in  any  wise  dependent 
upon  them  naturally  felt  the  pressure  most  severely. 
The  manufacturing  interest,  then  just  fairly  establish 
ed,  was  for  a  time  threatened  with  utter  ruin.  Many 


334 

constituting,  perhaps,  a  large  proportion,  had  embark 
ed  in  it  without  capital,  but  upon  credit  alone,  and 
they  were,  of  course,  prostrated  at  the  first  crash. 
President  Monroe  could  not  be  indifferent  to  this  state 
of  things,  and  he  was  disposed  to  go  as  far  in  afford 
ing  relief  as  was  consistent  with  his,  in  the  main, 
strict  construction  doctrines  with  respect  to  the  con 
stitution.  He  again  recommended  therefore,  the  sub 
ject  of  giving  further  encouragement  to  domestic  man 
ufactures,  paying  due  regard  to  the  other  great  inte 
rests  of  the  nation,  to  the  attention  of  Congress. 

Alabama  was  admitted  into  the  union,  by  a  joint 
resolution,  adopted  on  the  14th  of  December,  1819. 
An  attempt  was  made  at  this  session,  to  pass  a  law 
giving  additional  protection  to  the  manufacturing  in 
terest  ;  the  bill  was  passed  in  the  House,  by  a  majori 
ty  of  twenty  votes,  but  fa^ed  to  receive  the  concur 
rence  of  the  Senate.  In  order  to  encourage  emigra 
tion  to  the  western  states  and  territories,  and  to  in 
crease  the  revenue  derivable  from  the  public  lands, 
an  act  was  passed  authorizing  sales  to  be  made  in  half 
quarter  sections,  or  eighty  acres  establishing  the  price 
per  acre  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents,  and  abol 
ishing  the  credit  system  on  all  sales  from  and  after 
the  1st  day  of  July,  1820.  Unsuccessful  attempts 
were  made  to  procure  the  enactment  of  a  uniform 
bankrupt  law,  and  an  amendment  to  the  constitution 
providing  for  a  uniform  mode  of  choosing  presidential 
electors.  The  members  from  the  northern  and  east 
ern  states  generally  favored  the  passage  of  the  bank- 


MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  335 

rupt  law,  as  their  constituents  had  been  the  principal 
sufferers  during  the  late  derangement  in  the  moneta 
ry  affairs  of  the  country  ;  but  the  southern  and  west 
ern  members  resisted  its  adoption. 

But  by  far  the  most  important  question  considered 
and  discussed  at  this  session,  was  that  connected  with 
the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  union.  At  the  pre 
vious  session,  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  procure 
the  passage  of  an  act  authorizing  the  people  of  the 
territory  to  form  a  state  constitution.  This  encoun 
tered  a  most  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of  the 
northern  members,  and  Mr.  Otis,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Tallmadge  of  New-York,  dis 
tinguished  themselves  by  their  exertions  to  prevent 
the  passage  of  the  bill — taking  the  high  and  emphatic 
ground,  that  no  additional  state,  tolerating  the  exist 
ence  of  slavery,  ought  to  £e  admitted  into  the  union. 
They  therefore  insisted,  as  an  indispensable  prelimina 
ry  to  the  admission  of  Missouri,  that  her  constitution 
must  contain  a  fundamental  and  unalterable  provision 
prohibiting  the  future  removal  or  transportation  of 
slaves  into  the  territory  ;  and  to  that  end,  that  the  act 
authorizing  a  constitution  to  be  formed  should  contain 
a  clause  expressly  requiring  the  insertion  of  such  a 
provision.  As  they  openly  avowed  it  to  be  their  de 
sire  and  intention  to  restrict  the  institution  of  slavery 
to  its  existing  limits,  they  were  called  restrictionists. 
No  definite  action  was  had,  however,  at  this  time, 
and  the  subject  was  postponed  for  the  action  of  the 
next  Congress. 


336 

Early,  therefore,  in  the  session  of  1819-20,  the  Mis 
souri  question  was  revived,  by  the  introduction  of  the 
act  authorizing  the  people  of  the  territory  to  form  a 
state  constitution.  The  war  between  the  rival  parties 
— for  they  were  parties  living  in  opposite  quarters  of 
the  union  and  divided  on  sectional  issues — now  opened. 
The  debates  in  both  houses  were  exceedingly  warm, 
and  at  times  ominous  of  the  dissolution  of  the  confed 
eracy.  In  the  Senate,  the  battle  was  fought,  with 
ability  and  zeal,  by  Rufus  King  and  Walter  Lowrie 
on  the  one  side,  and  William  Pinkney  and  James  Bar- 
bour  on  the  other.  The  champions  of  the  south  in 
the  House  were  Henry  Clay,  John  Randolph,  and 
William  Lowndes  ;  of  the  north,  John  Sergeant,  John 
W.  Taylor,  and  Samuel  A.  Foot.  The  speakers  on 
the  southern  side  of  the  question  insisted,  at  the  outset, 
that  the  proposed  restrictio^i  was  unconstitutional,  and 
a  violation  of  the  treaty  by  which  Louisiana  was 
ceded,  as  it  stipulated  for  the  preservation  and  pro 
tection  of  the  rights  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  trans 
ferred  territory  ;  and,  moreover,  if  these  positions 
were  inadmissible,  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  agitate 
a  question  that  could  only  promote  discord  and  ill  feel 
ing,  and  that,  if  the  restriction  should  be  adopted  by 
northern  votes,  it  would  be  regarded  as  a  direct  inva 
sion  of  the  rights  of  the  south,  and  the  union  would 
be  at  an  end.  Mr.  Barbour,  of  the  Senate,  pro 
nounced  the  subject  to  be  "an  ignited  spark,  which, 
communicated  to  an  immense  mass  of  combustion, 
would  produce  an  explosion  that  would  shake  the 


337 

union  to  its  centre ;"  and  Mr.  Walker,  a  member  of 
the  same  body,  from  the  state  of  Georgia,  declared 
that  he  already  heard  the  thunders  roll,  and  could  see 
"  the  father  arrayed  against  the  son,  and  the  brother 
drawing  the  bloody  sword  from  the  bosom  of  the 
brother." 

On  the  other  side,  the  northern  members  maintained 
their  ground  with  great  spirit  and  firmness.  Mr.  King 
argued  that  the  power  of  Congress  to  impose  the 
restriction  was  implied  in  the  general  authority  to  ad 
mit  new  states  ;  and,  in  reference  to  the  abstract  ques 
tion  of  slavery  itself,  he  said,  "  that  by  the  law  of 
nature,  and  the  eternal  rule  of  justice,  there  could  be 
no  such  thing  as  a  right  in  a  fellow  creature  to  hold 
him  and  his  posterity  in  bondage  ;  that  treaties  and 
constitutions  ought  to  be  construed  in  the  sense  of  this 
great  paramount  law  ;  and  that  the  toleration  of  slave 
ry  in  the  original  states,  and  those  formed  from  the 
original  states — a  toleration  acknowledged  to  have 
grown  out  of  necessity — could  furnish  no  ground  for 
originating  this  unjust  institution,  where  such  neces 
sity  did  not  exist."  Mr.  Lowrie  was  still  more  pointed 
in  denouncing  the  institution  of  slavery  ;  and  in  the 
course  of  one  of  his  speeches  on  the  subject,  after 
alluding  to  the  remarks  of  southern  speakers,  he  said: 
"If  the  alternative  be,  as  gentlemen  thus  broadly  inti 
mate,  a  dissolution  of  the  union,  or  the  extension  of 
slavery  over  this  whole  western  country,  I,  for  one, 
will  choose  the  former." 

Daily    the  war  of  words  grew  warmer,   and  the 


338 

excitement  waxed  higher  and  higher.  Cassandras 
were  not  wanting  to  predict  the  downfall  of  Troy. 
The  enemies  of  republican  institutions  rejoiced  that 
the  problem  of  self-government  was  about  to  be  demon 
strated,  to  the  discomfiture  and  confusion  of  those 
who  had  proposed  it.  The  waves  of  anarchy  began 
to  surge  violently  over  the  ramparts  of  the  constitution. 
The  bond  of  the  confederacy  seemed  about  to  be 
severed.  At  length,  Mr.  Clay,  yielding  the  ground 
he  had  formerly  maintained,  proposed  a  compromise 
of  the  question,  by  the  insertion  of  a  section  in  the  act, 
forever  prohibiting  slavery  in  all  that  part  of  the  Mis 
souri  territory,  except  the  state  to  be  then  formed, 
lying  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes 
north  latitude — that  line  being  the  prolongation  of  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  present  state  of  Missouri. 

Mr.  Clay's  proposition  was  like  oil  poured  out  on 
the  troubled  waters.  The  strife  was  hushed.  The 
long  agony  was  over.  The  ship  of  state,  which  had 
careened  before  the  rude  blasts  of  political  contention, 
now  rose  erect,  and  sped  away  joyfully  on  her  course 
— her  sails  filled  with  the  soft  breezes  of  peace  and 
tranquillity,  and  a  nation's  prayers,  like  guardian 
angels,  hovering  around  her  track. 

The  bill,  as  amended,  was  finally  passed  through 
both  houses,  and  approved  by  the  president.  Efforts 
were  made  by  some  of  the  southern  members,  whose 
views  were  ultra  on  the  slavery  question,  to  prevail 
upon  Mr.  Monroe  to  withhold  his  signature  ;  but  after 
taking  the  advice  of  his  cabinet,  who  counselled  him 


MONROE'S   ADMINISTRATION.  339 

to  approve  the  bill,  he  decided  to  put  an  end  to  the 
agitation  by  confirming  the  action  of  Congress. 

While  the  Missouri  bill  was  under  discussion  in  the 
Senate,  an  attempt  was  made  to  annex  it  as  a  rider  to 
another  bill,  then  pending,  for  the  admission  of  Maine, 
hitherto  a  province  of  Massachusetts,  but  now,  with 
the  consent  of  the  latter,  presenting  herself  with  a 
constitution  as  a  separate  state.  The  effort  failed  of 
success,  and  the  act  admitting  Maine  into  the  union 
became  a  law  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1820.  The 
Missouri  bill  was  signed  on  the  6th  of  the  same  month. 

Although  the  seizure  of  the  posts  in  Florida  had 
not  prevented  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  of  1819, 
providing  for  the  cession  of  the  territory,  the  Spanish 
monarch  delayed  its  ratification,  upon  the  alleged 
ground,  that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  had 
manifested  a  hostile  disposition  towards  Spain,  by 
encouraging  the  revolutions  taking  place  in  her  South 
American  colonies,  and  that  the  general  policy  of  the 
American  government  had  been  decidedly  unfriendly. 
Mr.  Monroe  referred  to  this  matter  in  his  annual  mes 
sage,  and  in  a  further  special  communication,  on  the 
27th  of  March,  informed  Congress  that  Spain  had  been 
rebuked  for  her  inexcusable  delay,  by  the  govern 
ments  of  France  and  Russia  ;  and  in  view  of  this  fact, 
he  recommended  a  postponement  of  any  action  on  the 
subject,  till  the  ensuing  session.  On  the  9th  of  May, 
the  president  apprised  Congress  that  a  new  envoy  had 
arrived  from  Spain,  who  had  been  instructed  to  insist 

upon  the  insertion  of  stipulations,  against  the  alleged 

15 


i\ 


340  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

injuries  complained  of,  in  the  treaty,  as  the  condition 
upon  which  alone  it  would  be  ratified.  Fortunately, 
a  change  of  ministry  had  been  effected  in  Spain,  and 
the  constitution  of  1812  restored,  just  subsequent  to 
the  sailing  of  the  minister  ;  otherwise  the  two  coun 
tries  might  at  once  have  been  involved  in  war.  These 
facts  being  already  known,  President  Monroe  repeated 
his  recommendation  to  postpone  all  action  until  Con 
gress  again  assembled.  Spain  ultimately  receded  from 
her  position,  and  ratified  the  treaty,  which  was  an 
nounced  in  the  United  States,  by  executive  proclama 
tion,  on  the  22d  of  February,  1821. 

Congress  finally  adjourned  on  the  15th  of  May, 
1820.  Previous  to  the  adjournment,  a  congressional 
caucus  was  held,  for  the  nomination  of  candidates  for 
president  and  vice-president  at  the  approaching  elec 
tion.  There  being  no  opposition  to  the  re-nomination 
of  Messrs.  Monroe  and  Tompkins,  they  were  selected 
by  general  consent.  The  federalists  presented  no 
candidates  at  this  election  ;  indeed,  they  had  become 
almost  merged  in  the  republican  party.  Some  few 
remained  aloof,  and  firmly  refused  to  abandon  one  jot 
or  tittle  of  their  ancient  faith  ;  waiting  for  new  parties 
to  be  formed  out  of  the  overgrown  dominant  repub 
lican  organization,  and  intending  to  unite  with  that 
whose  sentiments  corresponded  the  most  nearly  with 
their  own.  But  the  great  body  of  the  federalists 
united  with  the  republicans,  and  soon  became  so 
mingled  up  that  their  original  individuality  was  en 
tirely  lost. 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  341 

No  opposition  worthy  the  name  was  offered  to  the 
election  of  Monroe  and  Tompkins.  The  former  re 
ceived  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  of  the  two  hundred 
and  thirty-two  electoral  votes  ;  one  vote  being  given 
in  the  electoral  college  of  Massachusetts  for  John 
Quincy  Adams.  Mr.  Tompkins  received  two  hundred 
and  eighteen  votes.  Richard  Stockton,  of  New  Jer- 

O  * 

sey,  and  Robert  G.  Harper,  of  Maryland,  both  distin 
guished  federalists,  together  received  nine  votes — the 
former  eight  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  latter  one  in 
his  own  state.  The  remaining  five  votes  were  given 
to  Messrs.  Rodney  and  Rush,  by  Delaware  and  New 
Hampshire. 

The  short  session  of  the  sixteenth  Congress  com 
menced  on  the  13th  of  November,  1820,  and  termi 
nated  on  the  3d  of  March,  1821.  Mr.  Clay  having 
resigned  the  speakership,  on  account  of  the  pressure 
of  private  engagements,  an  active  canvass  took  place 
for  his  successor.  There  were  three  prominent  can 
didates  ;  John  W.  Taylor,  of  New  York,  William 
Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina,  and  Samuel  Smith,  of 
Maryland.  John  Sergeant,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
supported  by  the  feeble  array  of  federal  members, 
probably  in  the  hope  of  profiting  by  the  divisions  in 
the  republican  ranks.  The  first  two  days  of  the  ses 
sion  were  spent  in  balloting.  Mr.  Lowndes  had  a 
plurality  of  votes,  on  the  second  day,  at  four  different 
times  ;  Mr.  Taylor,  at  five  times ;  and  Mr.  Smith  at 
three  times.  At  length  the  northern  members,  who 
had  voted  for  restricting  slavery  in  Missouri  at  the 


342  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

previous  session,  united  on  Mr.  Taylor,  and  with  the 
assistance  of  some  of  the  southern  representatives, 
succeeded  in  electing  him  on  the  morning  of  the  third 
day. 

From  the  president's  message,  it  appeared  that  the 
foreign  relations  of  the  United  States,  wore  a  peace 
ful  aspect,  with  the  exception  of  the  difficulty  with 
Spain,  which  was  soon  after  brought  to  a  favorable  is 
sue.  "In  looking  to  the  internal  concerns  of  our 
country,"  said  he,  "  you  will,  I  am  persuaded,  derive 
much  satisfaction  from  a  view  of  the  several  objects 
to  which,  in  the  discharge  of  your  official  duties,  your 
attention  will  be  drawn.  Amoncr  these,  none  held  a 

O  ' 

more  important  place  than  the  public  revenue,  from 
the  dire-cl  operation  of  the  power  by  which  it  is  rais 
ed  on  the  people,  and  by  its  influence  in  giving  effect 
to  every  other  power  of  the  government.  The  rev 
enue  depends  on  the  resources  of  the  country  ;  and 
the  facility  by  which  the  amount  required  is  raised,  is  a 
strong  proof  of  the  extent  of  the  resources,  and  of  the 
efficiency  of  the  government.  A  few  prominent  facts 
will  place  this  great  interest  in  a  just  light  before  you. 
On  the  30th  of  September,  1815,  the  funded  and  float 
ing  debt  of  the  United  States  was  estimated  at  one 
hundred  and  nineteen  millions  six  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight  dollars.  If 
to  this  sum  be  added  the  amount  of  five  per  cent, 
stock  subscribed  to  the  bank  of  the  United  States,  the 
amount  of  Mississippi  stock,  and  of  the  stock  which 
was  issued  subsequently  to  that  date,  the  balances  as- 


343 

certained  to  be  due  tc  certain  states  for  military  ser 
vices,  and  to  individuals  for  supplies  furnished  and  ser 
vices  rendered  during  the  late  war,  the  public  debt 
may  be  estimated  as  amounting,  at  that  date,  and  as 
afterwards  liquidated,  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
millions  seven  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  and  for 
ty-nine  dollars.  On  the  30th  of  September,  1820,  it 
amounted  to  ninety  one  millions  one  hundred  and 
ninety-three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighty-three 
dollars — having  been  reduced,  in  that  interval,  by 
payments  of  sixty-six  millions  eight  hundred  and  sev 
enty-nine  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  dollars. 
During  this  term  the  expenses  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States  were  likewise  defrayed  in  every 
branch  of  the  civil,  military,  and  naval  establishments; 
the  public  edifices  in  this  city  have  been  rebuilt,  with 
considerable  additions ;  extensive  fortifications  have 
been  commenced,  and  are  in  a  train  of  execution  ; 
permanent  arsenals  and  magazines  have  been  erected 
in  various  parts  of  the  union  ;  our  navy  has  been  con 
siderably  augmented,  and  the  ordnance,  munitions  of 
war,  and  stores  of  the  army  and  navy,  which  were 
much  exhausted  during  the  war,  have  been  replen 
ished. 

"  By  the  discharge  of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  pub 
lic  debt,  and  the  execution  of  such  extensive  and  im 
portant  operations  in  so  short  a  time,  a  just  estimate 
may  be  formed  of  the  great  extent  of  our  national  re 
sources.  The  demonstration  is  the  more  complete  and 
gratifying,  when  it  is  recollected  that  the  direct  tax 


344 

and  excise  were  repealed  soon  after  the  termination 
of  the  late  war,  and  that  the  revenue  applied  to  these 
purposes  has  been  derived  almost  wholly  from  other 
sources. 

"  The  receipts  into  the  treasury,  from  every  source 
to  the  30th  of  September  last,  have  amounted  to  six 
teen  millions  seven  hundred  and  ninety-four  thousand 
one  hundred  and  seven  dollars  and  sixty-six  cents  ; 
while  the  public  expenditures,  to  the  same  period, 
amounted  to  sixteen  millions  eight  hundred  and  seven 
ty-one  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars 
and  seventy-two  cents  ;  leaving  in  the  treasury,  on 
that  day,  a  sum  estimated  at  one  million  nine  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  *  *  * 

"  It  is  proper  to  add,  that  there  is  now  due  to  the 
treasury,  for  the  sale  of  public  lands,  twenty-two 
millions  nine  hundred  and  ninety-six  thousand  five 
hundred  and  forty-five  dollars.  In  bringing  the  sub 
ject  to  view,  I  consider  it  my  duty  to  submit  to  Con 
gress,  whether  it  may  not  be  advisable  to  extend  to 
the  purchasers  of  these  lands,  in  consideration  of  the 
unfavorable  change  which  has  occurred  since  the 
sales,  a  reasonable  indulgence.  It  is  known  that  the 
purchases  were  made  when  the  price  of  every  arti 
cle  had  risen  to  its  greatest  height,  and  that  the  instal 
ments  are  becoming  due  at  a  period  of  great  depres 
sion.  It  is  presumed  that  some  plan  may  be  devised 
by  the  wisdom  of  Congress,  compatible  with  the  pub 
lic  interest,  which  would  afford  great  relief  to  these 
purchasers." 


345 

On  the  second  day  of  the  session,  the  president 
communicated  to  the  Senate  a  copy  of  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  state  of  Missouri  ;  whereupon  the  subject 
was  referred  to  a  committee  to  examine  the  same,  and 
report  wrhat  action  was  necessary  in  the  premises. 
The  Senate  adopted  the  requisite  resolution  for  the 
admission  of  the  new  state,  after  quite  an  animated 
debate.  In  the  House  the  Constitution  was  also  refer 
red  to  a  committee,  a  majority  of  whom,  through 
their  Chairman,  Mr.  Lowndes,  reported  on  the  25th 
of  December,  that  the  same  was  strictly  republican, 
and  concluded  with  a  resolution,  in  the  usual  form, 
providing  for  the  admission.  Again  were  the  section 
al  prejudices  and  feelings  of  the  last  session  revived. 
The  friends  and  opponents  of  slavery  were  once  more 
pitted  against  each  other. 

The  report  of  Mr.  Lowndes  was  referred  directly 
to  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and  the  views  embo 
died  therein,  and  the  resolution  accompanying  it,  were 
discussed  for  an  entire  week.  The  arguments  used 
on  both  sides  were  similar  to  those  of  the  previous 
session,  although  the  particular  question  now  was, 
whether  or  no  the  fourth  clause  of  the  twenty-sixth 
section  of  the  third  article  of  the  state  constitution 
adopted  by  Missouri  should  be  retained.  On  taking 
the  vote,  the  resolution  introduced  by  Mr.  Lowndes, 
on  behalf  of  the  committee,  was  lost  by  a  majority  of 
fourteen  votes.  The  members  from  Maryland,  Vir 
ginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  voted  unani- 


346 

mously  in  favor  of  the  resolution  ;  and  the  members 
from  the  northern  states,  with  a  few  exceptions,  voted 
against  it. 

Still  no  final  disposition  of  the  question  was  made  ; 
and  when  the  votes  of  the  electoral  colleges  came  to  be 
counted  it  was  found  that  Missouri  had  chosen  elec 
tors  who  had  met  together  and  cast  their  votes  for 
president  and  vice-president.  This  difficulty  had  been 
foreseen,  and  the  Senate  had  adopted  a  resolution  on 
the  13th  of  February,  1821 — the  day  previous  to  that 
appointed  for  counting  the  electoral  votes — directing 
that  all  the  votes  should  be  counted,  and  that  the  re 
sult  should  be  declared,  including  those  of  the  state 
of  Missouri,  and  also  not  including  them.  The  friends 
of  the  admission  in  the  House  strenuously  opposed 
the  adoption  of  the  resolution,  insisting  that  Missouri 
had  complied  with  the  necessary  requisites,  and  that 
she  wras  now  a  sovereign  state,  and  could  not  be  dis 
franchised.  The  resolution  was  adopted,  however  ; 
and  the  votes  were  counted,  and  the  result  declared, 
in  the  manner  prescribed  therein,  although  the  procee 
dings  did  not  pass  without  interruption, — a  fruitless, 
but  persevering  attempt,  being  made  by  John  Ran 
dolph  and  others,  to  have  Missouri  declared  a  state. 

Moderate  and  conciliatory  counsels  now  prevailing 
the  whole  subject  of  the  Missouri  question  was  refer 
red  to  a  joint  committee,  of  the  two  Houses.  Mr. 
Clay,  from  this  committee,  reported  the  following  reso 
lution  as  a  compromise,  on  the  26th  of  February. 

"  Resolved,  That  Missouri  shall  be  admitted  into  this 


347 

union,  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  states,  in 
all  respects  whatever,  upon  the  fundamental  condition, 
that  the  fourth  clause  of  the  twenty-sixth  section  of 
the  third  article  of  the  constitution,  submitted  on  the, 
part  of  said  state  to  Congress,  shall  never  be  construed 
to  authorize  the  passage  of  any  law,  and  that  no  law 
shall  be  passed  in  conformity  thereto,  by  which  any 
citizen  of  either  of  the  states  in  this  union,  shall  be 
excluded  from  the  enjoyment  of  any  of  the  privileges 
and  immunities  to  which  such  citizen  is  entitled  under 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States  : — Provided,  that 
the  legislature  of  the  said  state,  by  a  solemn  public 
act,  shall  declare  the  assent  of  the  said  state,  to  the 
said  fundamental  condition,  and  shall  transmit  to  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  on  or  before  the  fourth 
Monday  in  November  next,  an  authentic  copy  of  the 
said  act ;  upon  the  receipt  whereof,  the  president,  by 
proclamation,  shall  announce  the  fact :  whereupon, 
and  without  any  further  proceeding  on  the  part  of 
Congress,  the  admission  of  the  said  state  into  this 
union  shall  be  considered  as  complete." 

Some  opposition  was  manifested  to  the  passage  of 
this  resolution  ;  but  all  parties  were  wearied  with  the 
protracted  discussion,  and  on  taking  the  vote,  the 
resolution  was  adopted — eighty-seven  voting  in  favor 
thereof,  to  eighty-one  against  it.  On  the  28th  of 
February  the  Senate  concurred  in  the  resolution,  and 
the  president  approved  and  signed  it  on  the  2d  of 
March. 

At   this   session  of  Congress,    an   act  was  passed 

15* 


348 

reducing  the  peace  establishment  of  the  army  to  seven 
regiments  of  infantry,  and  four  of  artillery,  and  organ 
izing  the  different  departments  of  the  staff  into  bu 
reaus.  Spain  having  at  last  ratified  the  treaty  for  the 
purchase  of  the  Floridas,  laws  were  enacted  to  carry 
it  into  effect,  and  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
general  government  over  the  new  acquisition.  Mr. 
Clay  once  more  brought  forward  his  proposition  for 
the  acknowledgment  of  the  independence  of  the  South 
American  republics,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  his 
resolutions  through  the  House.  Nothing  was  done, 
however,  in  the  Senate,  in  regard  to  this  subject.  It 
was  generally  understood  that  the  president  and  his 
cabinet,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Adams,  were 
averse  to  the  adoption  of  Mr.  Clay's  resolutions. 

Mr.  Barbour  offered  a  resolution  in  the  Senate, 
declaring  the  act  of  1798,  commonly  called  the  sedi 
tion  act,  unconstitutional,  and  directing  the  fines  im 
posed  in  pursuance  thereof  to  be  repaid  to  the  persons 
who  had  been  mulcted.  The  resolution  gave  rise  to 
debate,  and  was  finally  negatived  by  a  vote  of  twenty- 
four  to  nineteen — the  majority  being  composed  of 
federalists,  and  of  other  senators  who  considered  that 
Congress  did  not  possess  the  power  thus  to  annul  a 
law  the  constitutionality  of  which  had  been  sustained 
by  the  United  States'  Courts.  Propositions  for  the 
establishment  of  a  national  system  of  education,  by 
means,  of  the  revenue  arising  from  the  sale  of  the 
public  lands,  and  prohibiting  the  reception  of  the  bills 
of  state  banks  issuing  notes  of  a  less  denomination 


349 

than  five  dollars,  in  payment  of  government  dues, 
were  rejected  by  decisive  majorities. 

The  fourth  day  of  March  being  Sunday,  the  inau 
guration  ceremonies  were  postponed  till  the  following 
day.  The  address  of  Mr.  Monroe  reiterated  the.  sen 
timents  avowed  in  his  first  inaugural.  He  expatiated 
at  length  on  the  importance  of  fortifying  the  sea-coast, 
and  augmenting  the  naval  force  of  the  country,  and 
enjoined  upon  his  countrymen  the  preservation  of 
strict  neutrality  with  reference  to  the  revolutionary 
struggles  in  South  America.  Referring  to  the  condi 
tion  of  the  Indian  tribes,  and  their  claims  on  the  mag- 
naminity  of  the  American  people,  he  expressed  him 
self  in  favor  of  acquiring  the  sovereignty  in  the  lands 
still  held  by  them,  rendering  therefor  an  equivalent, 
to  be  vested  in  permanent  funds  for  the  support  of 
civil  government  among  them,  and,  for  the  education 
of  their  children,  their  instruction  in  the  arts  of  hus 
bandry,  and  their  maintenance  till  they  were  able  to 
provide  for  themselves. 

On  the  3d  day  of  December,  1821,  the  seventeenth 
Congress  assembled  for  its  first  regular  session.  The 
leading  senators  in  the  former  Congress  again  re-ap 
peared  ;  and,  in  addition,  Martin  Van  Buren  of  New 
York,  Samuel  L.  Southard  of  New  Jersey,  and 
Thomas  H.  Benton  of  Missouri,  all  of  the  republican 
party,  now  took  their  seats.  Mr.  Clay  was  not  returned 
to  this  Congress  ;  but  Messrs.  J.  W.  Taylor,  Sergeant, 
Mallary,  Edwards,  McLane,  P.  P.  Barbour,  S.  Smith, 
Floyd,  Mercer,  Nelson,  Randolph,  Lowndes,  and 


350  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Hardin,  were  re-elected.  The  only  prominent  feder 
alist,  among  the  new  members,  was  Henry  W.  Dwight 
of  Massachusetts.  Among  the  republicans,  were 
William  Eustis,  of  Massachusetts  ;  Churchill  C.  Cam- 
breleng,  Cadwalader  C.  Golden,  Alfred  Conkling, 
William  B.  Rochester,  and  Reuben  H.  Walworth,  of 
New  York  ;  Caesar  A.  Rodney,  of  Delaware  ;  Robert 
Wright,  of  Maryland  ;  Romulus  M.  Saunders,  of 
North  Carolina  ;  and  George  McDuffie,  and  Joel  R. 
Poinsett,  of  South  Carolina  ; 

Divisions  now  began  to  be  more  than  ever  apparent 
in  the  republican  ranks,  and  candidates  for  the  next 
presidency  were  proposed  by  their  respective  friends. 
There  were  already  six  Richmonds  in  the  field — John 
Quincy  Adams,  Andrew  Jackson,  Henry  Clay,  Wil 
liam  H.  Crawford,  William  Lowndes,  and  John  C. 
Calhoun.  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Clay  were  supported 
by  the  friends  of  a  protective  tariff  and  of  a  general 
system  of  internal  improvements.  The  federalists 
who  had  remained  true,  or  were  still  partial  to  their  old 
opinions  in  regard  to  matters  of  public  policy,  also  pre 
ferred  Mr.  Adams  or  Mr.  Clay  to  the  other  persons 
named  as  candidates.  The  opponents  of  a  protective 
tariff, — including  in  this  designation  those  republicans 
from  the  northern  states  who  were  in  favor  of  a  revenue 
tariff  affording  incidental  protection, — and  of  a  general 
internal  improvement  system,  were  divided  in  their 
preferences.  The  election  of  speaker,  however,  prob 
ably  turned  in  the  main  on  the  tariff  question.  John 
W.  Taylor  was  supported  by  the  friends  of  a  high 


351 

protective  system,  and  Philip  P.  Barbour  united  near 
ly  all  the  the  strength  of  the  opposing  faction.  The 
latter  was  elected  after  several  ballotings,  by  a  small 
majority. 

Mr.  Monroe  sent  in  his  annual  message  on  the  5th 
instant.  After  referring  to  the  favorable  aspect  of 
the  foreign  relations,  he  stated  that  it  had  now  become 
evident  that  Spain  could  never  again  reduce  her  re 
fractory  colonies  into  subjection,  and  that  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  would  endeavor  to  promote 
by  friendly  counsel  the  recognition  of  their  indepen 
dence  by  the  mother  country.  A  loan  of  five  mil 
lions  of  dollars  had  been  authorized  at  the  previous 
session,  and  with  this  assistance  the  treasury  had  been 
able  to  meet  all  the  demands  upon  it,  and  to  present  a 
surplus  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year.  Still,  it  was 
his  firm  conviction  that  an  increase  of  revenue  would 
be  necessary,  and  he  therefore  recommended  a  mode 
rate  additional  duty  on  certain  articles. 

Among  the  important  public  acts  passed  at  this  ses 
sion  were  those  establishing  a  territorial  government 
in  Florida  ;  authorizing  a  loan  of  twenty-six  millions 
of  dollars  to  meet  the  public  debt  falling  due  ;  and 
apportioning  the  representatives  to  Congress  from  the 
several  states — the  ratio  adopted  being  forty  thousand 
of  federal  population.  The  subject  of  a  general  bank 
rupt  law  was  again  introduced,  and  the  passage  of  a 
bill  urged  with  much  earnestness,  by  Mr.  Sergeant 
of  Pennsylvania.  On  taking  the  vote,  however,  a 
large  majority  appeared  to  be  opposed  to  the  measure 


352 

— there  being  seventy-two  in  favor  to  ninety-nine 
against  it. 

The  tariff  question  underwent  considerable  discus 
sion,  during  the  course  of  the  session,  but  as  a  majori 
ty  of  the  members  of  the  House  were  opposed  to  any 
higher  rate  of  duties  than  was  then  authorized  by  law, 
nothing  was  done  in  the  premises. 

Mr.  Pinkney,  the  eloquent  senator  from  Maryland, 
died  at  Washington  in  the  month  of  February,  1822. 
Misplace  was  supplied  by  the  election  of  Samuel  Smith, 
then  a  member  of  the  House,  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

On  the  eighth  of  March  the  president  sent  a  special 
message  to  Congress,  recommending  that,  inasmuch 
as  the  revolted  colonies  of  Spain  in  South  America 
had  now  manifestly  demonstrated  their  ability  to  main 
tain  their  independence,  the  same  should  be  recognized 
by  the  American  government.  On  the  appearance  of 
the  message,  the  Spanish  minister  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  emphatically  and  solemnly 
protesting  against  such  recognition,  on  the  part  and  in 
behalf  of  his  government.  Mr.  Adams  replied  that 
the  proposed  recognition  was  not  designed  to  invali 
date  any  right  of  Spain  that  she  proved  able  to  main 
tain  by  force  of  arms,  but  only  tQ  acknowledge  an  ex 
isting  fact, — liable,  of  course,  to  be  changed,  if  the 
mother  Country  was  successful  in  her  efforts  to  recov 
er  her  revolted  colonies, — with  a  view  of  establishing 
political  and  commercial  relations  with  the  newly 
formed  nations. 

Congress  promptly  adopted  the  suggestions  of  the 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  353 

Executive  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  and  appro 
priated  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  missions  to  the  republics  whose 
independence  was  now  recognized. 

An  appropriation  for  certain  fortifications  having 
been  withheld  at  the  previous  session,  the  president 
called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  fact,  on  the 
26th  of  March,  in  a  special  message,  repeating  his 
formerly  expressed  views  in  regard  to  the  importance 
of  carefully  fortifying  the  country,  and  enforcing 
them  by  many  powerful  arguments. 

A  short  time  prior  to  the  adjournment  of  Congress, 
a  bill  was  passed  providing  for  the  preservation  and 
repair  of  the  Cumberland  Road.  As  this  bill  assumed 
the  right  in  Congress  to  adopt  and  execute  a  system 
of  internal  improvements,  it  came  in  conflict  with  the 
well  known  views  of  the  President  in  relation  to  the 
constitution.  He  therefore  returned  the  bill  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1822, 
with  his  objections.  He  also  communicated  to  that 
body,  on  the  same  day,  an  ably  written  paper,  con 
taining  an  expose  of  his  sentiments  and  opinions,  in 
which,  after  showing  the  origin  of  the  national  and 
state  governments,  and  their  respective  powers,  he 
proceeded  to  examine  whether  the  right  of  adopting 
and  executing  a  system  of  internal  improvement,  by 
roads  and  canals,  had  been  vested  in  the  United  States, 
in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Before  we  can  determine  whether  this  power  has 
been  granted  to  the  general  government,  it  will  be 


354 

necessary  to  ascertain,  distinctly,  the  nature  and  ex 
tent  of  the  power  requisite   to  make  such  improve 
ments.     When  that  is  done,  we  shall  be  able  to  decide, 
whether  such  power  is   vested  in   the  national  gov 
ernment. 

"  If  the  power  existed,  it  would,  it  is  presumed,  be 
executed  by  a  board  of  skilful  engineers,  on  a  view 
of  the  whole  union,  on  a  plan  which  would  secure 
complete  effect  to  all  the  great  purposes  of  our  con 
stitution.  It  is  not  my  intention,  however,  to  take  up 
the  subject  here,  on  this  scale.  I  shall  state  a  case 
for  the  purpose  of  illustration  only.  Let  it  be  sup 
posed  that  Congress  intended  to  run  a  road  from  the 
city  of  Washington  to  Baltimore  and  to  connect  the 
Chesapeake  bay  with  the  Delaware,  and  the  Delaware 
with  the  Raritan,  by  a  canal ;  what  must  be  done  to 
carry  the  project  into  effect  1  I  make  here  no  ques 
tion  of  the  existing  power.  I  speak  only  of  the  power 
necessary  for  the  purpose.  Commissioners  would  be 
appointed  to  trace  a  route,  in  the  most  direct  line,  pay 
ing  due  regard  to  heights,  water-courses,  and  other 
obstacles,  and  to  acquire  the  right  to  the  ground  over 
which  the  road  and  canal  would  pass,  with  sufficient 
breadth  for  each.  This  must  be  done  by  voluntary 
grants,  or  by  purchases  from  individuals,  or,  in  case 
they  would  not  sell,  or  should  ask  an  exorbitant  price, 
by  condemning  the  property  and  fixing  its  value  by  a 
jury  of  the  vicinage.  The  next  object  to  be  attended 
to,  after  the  road  and  canal  are  laid  out  and  made,  is 
to  keep  them  in  repair.  We  know  that  there  are  peo- 


355 

pie  in  every  community  capable  of  committing  volun 
tary  injuries  ;  of  pulling  down  walls  that  are  made  to 
sustain  the  road  ;  of  breaking  the  bridges  over  water 
courses,  and  breaking  the  road  itself.  Some  living 
near  it  might  be  disappointed  that  it  did  not  pass 
through  their  lands,  and  commit  these  acts  of  violence 
and  waste,  from  revenge,  or  in  the  hope  of  giving  it 
that  direction,  though  for  a  short  time.  Injuries  of 
this  kind  have  been  committed,  and  are  still  complained 
of,  on  the  road  from  Cumberland  to  the  Ohio.  To  ac 
complish  this  object,  Congress  should  have  a  right  to 
pass  laws  to  punish  offenders,  wherever  they  may  be 
found.  Jurisdiction  over  the  road  would  not  be  suf 
ficient,  though  it  were  exclusive.  It  would  seldom 
happen  that  the  parties  would  be  detected  in  the  act. 
They  would  generally  commit  it  in  the  night,  and  fly 
far  off  before  the  sun  appeared.  The  power  to  pun 
ish  these  culprits  must,  therefore,  reach  them  wherev 
er  they  go.  The  must,  also,  be  amenable  to  compe- 
ten  tribunals,  federal  or  state.  The  power  must, 
likewise,  extend  to  another  object,  not  less  essential 
or  important  than  those  already  mentioned.  Experi 
ence  has  shown  that  the  establishment  of  turnpikes, 
with  gates  and  tolls,  and  persons  to  collect  the  tolls,  is 
the  best  expedient  that  can  be  adopted  to  defray  the 
expense  of  these  improvements,  and  the  repairs  which 
they  necessarily  require.  Congress  must,  therefore, 
have  power  to  make  such  an  establishment,  and  to 
support  it,  by  such  regulations,  with  fines  and  penal- 
lies,  in  the  case  of  injuries,  as  may  be  competent  to 


356 

the  purpose.  The  right  must  extend  to  all  those  ob 
jects,  or  it  will  be  utterly  incompetent.  It  is  possess 
ed  and  exercised  by  the  states  individually,  and  it 
must  be  possessed  by  the  United  States,  or  the  pre 
tension  must  be  abandoned. 

"  Let  it  be  further  supposed  that  Congress,  believing 
that  they  do  possess  the  power,  have  passed  an  act 
for  those  purposes  under  which  commissioners  have 
been  appointed,  who  have  begun  the  work.  They  are 
met  at  the  first  farm  on  which  they  enter,  by  the 
owner,  who  forbids  them  to  trespass  on  his  land.  They 
offer  to  buy  it  at  a  fair  price,  or  at  twice  or  thrice  its 
value.  He  persists  in  his  refusal.  Can  they,  on  the 
principle  recognised  and  acted  on  by  all  the  state  gov 
ernments,  that,  in  cases  of  this  kind,  the  obstinacy 
and  perverseness  of  an  individual  must  yield  to  the 
public  welfare,  summon  a  jury  of  upright  and  discreet 
men  to  condemn  the  land,  value  it,  and  compel  the 
owner  to  receive  the  amount,  and  to  deliver  it  up  to 
them  ]  I  believe  that  very  few  would  concur  in  the 
opinion  that  such  a  power  exists. 

"The  next  object  is  to  preserve  these  improvements 
from  injury.  The  locks  of  the  canal  are  broken  ;  the 
walls  which  sustained  the  road  are  pulled  down  ;  the 
bridges  are  broken  ;  the  road  itself  is  ploughed  up  ; 
toll  is  refused  to  be  paid  ;  the  gates  of  the  canal  or 
turnpike  are  forced.  The  offenders  are  pursued, 
caught,  and  brought  to  trial.  Can  they  be  punished  1 
The  question  of  right  must  be  decided  on  principle. 
The  culprits  will  avail  themselves  of  every  barrier, 


357 

that  may  serve  to  screen  them  from  punishment. 
They  will  plead  that  the  law,  under  which  they  stand 
arraigned,  is  unconstitutional,  and  that  question  must 
be  decided  by  the  court,  whether  federal  or  state,  on 
a  fair  investigation  of  the  powers  vested  in  the  gen 
eral  government  by  the  constitution.  If  the  judges 
find  that  these  powers  have  not  been  granted  to  Con 
gress,  the  prisoners  must  be  acquitted  ;  and,  by  their 
acquittal,  all  claim  to  the  right  to  establish  such  a  sys 
tem  is  at  an  end. 

"  I  have  supposed  an  opposition  to  be  made  to  the 
right  in  Congress,  by  the  owner  of  the  land,  and  other 
individuals  charged  with  breaches  of  statutes  made 
to  protect  the  work  from  injury,  because  it  is  the 
mildest  form  in  which  it  can  present  itself.  It  is  not, 
however,  the  only  one.  A  state,  also,  may  contest  the 
right,  and  then  the  controversy  assumes  another  char 
acter.  Government  might  contend  against  govern 
ment  ;  for,  to  a  certain  extent,  both  the  governments 
are  sovereign  and  independent  of  each  other,  and  in 
that  form  it  is  possible,  though  not  probable,  that  op 
position  might  be  made.  To  each  limitations  are  pre 
scribed,  and  should  a  contest  rise  between  them, 
respecting  their  rights,  and  the  people  sustain  it  with 
anything  like  an  equal  division  of  numbers,  the  worst 
consequences  might  ensue. 

*'  It  may  be  urged  that  the  opposition  suggested  by 
the  owner  of  the  land,  or  by  the  states  individually, 
may  be  avoided  by  a  satisfactory  arrangement  with 
the  parties.  But  a  suppression  of  opposition  in  that 


358 

way,  is  no  proof  of  a  right  in  Congress,  nor  could  it, 
if  confined  to  that  limit,  remove  all  the  impediments 
to  the  exercise  of  the  power.  It  is  not  sufficient  that 
Congress  may,  by  the  command  and  application  of  the 
public  revenue,  purchase  the  soil,  and  thus  silence  that 
class  of  individuals  ;  or,  by  the  accommodation  affor 
ded  to  individual  states,  put  down  opposition  on  their 
part.  Congress  must  be  able  rightfully  to  control  all 
opposition,  or  they  can  not  carry  the  system  into  ef 
fect.  Cases  would  inevitably  occur  to  put  the  right 
to  the  test.  The  work  must  be  preserved  from  injury  ; 
tolls  must  be  collected  ;  offenders  must  be  punished. 
With  these  culprits  no  bargain  can  be  made.  When 
brought  to  trial,  they  must  deny  the  validity  of  the 
law,  and  that  plea  being  sustained,  all  claim  to  the 
right  ceases. 

"If  the  United  States  possess  this  power,  it  must  be, 
either  because  it  has  been  specifically  granted,  or  that 
it  is  incidental,  and  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  some 
specific  grant.  The  advocates  for  the  power  derive 
it  from  the  following  sources  :  1st,  the  right  to  estab 
lish  postoffices  and  postroads  ;  2d,  to  declare  war  ;  3d, 
to  regulate  commerce  among  the  several  states  ;  4th, 
from  the  power  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the 
common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United 
States  ;  5th,  from  the  power  to  make  all  laws  neces 
sary  and  proper  for  carrying  into  execution  all  the 
powers  vested  by  the  constitution  in  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer 
thereof ;  6th,  and  lastly,  from  the  power  to  dispose 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  359 

of,  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respec 
ting,  the  territory  and  other  property  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that  there  is  but  little 
accord  among  the  advocates  for  this  power,  as  to  the 
particular  source  whence  it  is  derived.  They  all 
agree,  however,  in  ascribing  it  to  some  one  or  more 
of  those  above  mentioned.  I  will  examine  the  ground 
of  the  claim  in  each  instance. 

"  The  first  of  these  grants  is  in  the  following  words  : 
"Congress  shall  have  power  to  establish  postoffices 
and  postroads."  What  is  the  just  import  of  these 
words,  and  the  extent  of  the  grant  1  The  w7ord  "es 
tablish,"  is  the  ruling  term  ;  "postoffices  and  post- 
roads"  are  the  subjects  on  which  it  acts.  The  ques 
tion,  therefore,  is  what  power  is  granted  by  that  word  ? 
The  sense  in  which  words  are  commonly  used,  is  that 
in  which  they  are  to  be  understood  in  all  transactions 
between  public  bodies  and  individuals.  The  intention 
of  the  parties  is  to  prevail  ;  and  there  is  no  better  way 
of  ascertaining  it,  than  by  giving  to  the  terms  used 
their  ordinary  import.  If  we  were  to  ask  any  num 
ber  of  our  most  enlightened  citizens,  who  had  no 
connexion  with  public  affairs,  and  whose  minds  were 
unprejudiced,  what  was  the  import  of  the  word  "  estab 
lish,"  and  the  extent  of  the  grant  which  it  controls, 
we  do  not  think  that  there  would  be  any  difference  of 
opinion  among  them.  We  are  satisfied  that  all  of 
them  would  answer,  that  a  powrer  was  thereby  given 
to  Congress,  to  fix  on  the  towns,  courthouses,  and 
other  places,  throughout  our  Union,  at  which  there 


360 

should  be  postoffices  ;  the  routes  by  which  the  mails 
should  be  carried  from  one  postoffice  to  another,  so  as 
to  diffuse  intelligence  as  extensively,  and  to  make  the 
institution  as  useful,  as  possible  ;  to  fix  the  postage 
to  be  paid  on  every  letter  and  packet  thus  carried,  to 
support  the  establishment,  and  to  protect  the  postoffices 
and  mails  from  robbery,  by  punishing  those  who  should 
commit  the  offence.  The  idea  of  a  right  to  lay  off 
the  roads  of  the  United  States,  on  a  general  scale  of 
improvement  ;  to  take  the  soil  from  the  proprietor  by 
force  ;  to  establish  turnpikes  and  tolls,  and  to  punish 
offenders  in  the  manner  stated  above,  would  never  oc 
cur  to  any  such  person.  The  use  of  the  existing  road, 
by  the  stage,  mail-carrier,  or  postboy,  in  passing  over 
it  as  others  do,  is  all  that  would  be  thought  of;  the 
jurisdiction  and  soil  remaining  to  the  state,  with  a 
right  in  the  state,  or  those  authorized  by  its  legisla 
ture,  to  change  the  road  at  pleasure. 

"  The  intention  of  the  parties  is  supported  by  other 
proof,  which  ought  to  place  it  beyond  all  doubt.  In 
the  former  act  of  government,  the  confederation,  we 
find  a  grant  for  the  same  purpose,  expressed  in  the 
following  words  :  "The  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and 
power  of  establishing  and  regulating  postoffices  from 
one  state  to  another,  throughout  the  United  States,  and 
of  exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers  passing  through 
the  same,  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  said  postoffice."  The  term  "  establish"  was  like 
wise  the  ruling  one  in  that  instrument,  and  was  evi- 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  361 

dently  intended,  and  understood,  to  give  a  power 
simply  and  solely  to  fix  where  there  should  be  postof- 
fices.  By  transferring  this  term  from  the  confedera 
tion  into  the  constitution,  it  was  doubtless  intended 
that  it  should  be  understood  in  the  same  sense  in  the 
latter  that  it  was  in  the  former  instrument,  and  to  be 
applied  alike  to  postoflices  and  postroads.  In  what 
ever  sense  it  is  applied  to  postoffices,  it  must  be  ap 
plied  in  the  same  sense  to  postroads.  But  it  may  be 
asked,  if  such  was  the  intention,  why  were  not  all  the 
other  terms  of  the  grant  transferred  with  it  ]  The 
reason  is  obvious.  The  confederation  being  a  bond  of 
union  between  independent  states,  it  was  necessary, 
in  granting  the  powers  which  were  to  be  exercised 
over  them,  to  be  very  explicit  and  minute  in  defining 
the  powers  granted.  But  the  constitution,  to  the  ex 
tent  of  its  powers,  having  incorporated  the  states  into 
one  government,  like  the  government  of  the  states, 
individually,  fewer  words  in  defining  the  powers 
granted  by  it,  were  not  only  adequate,  but,  perhaps, 
better  adapted  to  the  purpose.  We  find  that  brevity 
is  a  characteristic  of  the  instrument.  Had  it  been 
intended  to  convey  a  more  enlarged  power  in  the  con 
stitution  than  had  been  granted  in  the  confederation, 
surely  the  same  controlling  term  would  not  have  been 
used  ;  or  other  words  would  have  been  added,  to  show 
such  intention,  and  to  mark  the  extent  to  which  the 
power  should  be  carried.  It  is  a  liberal  construction 
of  the  powers  granted  in  the  constitution,  by  this 
term,  to  include  in  it  all  the  powers  that  were  granted 


362 

in  the  confederation,  by  terms  which  specifically  de 
fined  and  (as  was  supposed)  extended  their  limits.  It 
would  be  absurd  to  say,  that,  by  omitting  from  the 
constitution  any  portion  of  the  phraseology  which  was 
deemed  important  in  the  confederation,  the  import  of 
the  term  was  enlarged,  and,  with  it,-  the  powers  of 
the  constitution,  in  a  proportional  degree,  beyond 
what  they  were  in  the  confederation.  The  right  to 
exact  postage  and  to  protect  the  postoffices  and  mails 
from  robbery,  by  punishing  the  offenders,  may  fairly 
be  considered  as  incidents  to  the  grant,  since,  without 
it,  the  object  of  the  grant  might  be  defeated.  What 
ever  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  accomplishment  of 
the  object  of  the  grant,  though  not  specified,  may 
fairly  be  considered  as  included  in  it.  Beyond  this, 
the  doctrine  of  incidental  power  can  not  be  carried. 

If  we  go  back  to  the  origin  of  our  settlements  and 
institutions,  and  trace  their  progress  down  to  the  revo 
lution,  we  shall  see  that  it  was  in  this  sense,  and  none 
other,  that  the  power  was  exercised  by  all  our  colonial 
governments.  Postoffices  were  made  for  the  country, 
and  not  the  country  for  them.  They  are  the  offspring 
of  improvement ;  they  never  go  before  it.  Settle 
ments  are  first  made  ;  after  which  the  progress  is  uni 
form  and  simple,  extending  to  objects  in  regular  or 
der,  most  necessary  to  the  comfort  of  man — schools, 
places  of  worship,  courthouses,  and  markets  ;  postof 
fices  follow.  Roads  may,  indeed,  be  said  to  be  coeval 
with  settlements.  They  lead  to  all  the  places  men 
tioned,  and  to  every  other  which  the  various  arid  com- 
fli  -atad  interests  of  societv  require. 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  363 

"  It  is  believed  that  not  one  example  can  be  given, 
from  the  first  settlement  of  our  country  to  the  adoption 
of  this  constitution,  of  a  post  office  being  established 
without  a  view  to  existing  roads  ;  or  of  a  single  road 
having  been  made  by  pavement,  turnpike,  &c.,  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  accommodating  a  post  office. 
Such,  too,  is  the  uniform  progress  of  all  societies.  In 
granting,  then,  this  power  to  the  United  States,  it  was 
undoubtedly  intended  by  the  framers  and  ratifiers  of 
the  constitution,  to  convey  it  in  the  sense  and  extent 
only  in  which  it  had  been  understood  and  exercised 
by  the  previous  authorities  of  the  country. 

"This  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the  object  of  the 
grant  and  the  manner  of  its  execution.  The  object  is 
the  transportation  of  the  mail  throughout  the  United 
States,  which  may  be  done  on  horseback',  and  was  so 
done  until  lately,  since  the  establishment  of  stages. 
Between  the  great  towns,  and  in  other  places  where 
the  population  is  dense,  stages  are  preferred,  because 
they  afford  an  additional  opportunity  to  make  a  profit 
from  passengers.  But  where  the  population  is  sparse, 
and  on  crossroads,  it  is  generally  carried  on  horse 
back.  Unconnected  with  passengers  and  other  ob 
jects,  it  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  mail  itself  may 
be  carried  in  every  part  of  the  Union,  with  nearly  as 
much  economy  and  greater  despatch,  on  horseback, 
than  in  a  stage  ;  and  in  many  parts  with  much  greater. 
In  every  part  of  the  Union  in  which  stages  can  be 
preferred,  the  roads  are  sufficiently  good,  provided 

those  which  serve  for  every  other  purpose  will  accom- 

16 


364 

modate  them.  In  every  other  part,  where  horses 
alone  are  used,  if  other  people  pass  them  on  horse 
back,  surely  the  mail-carrier  can.  For  an  object  so 
simple  and  so  easy  in  the  execution,  it  would  doubtless 
excite  surprise,  if  it  should  be  thought  proper  to  ap 
point  commissioners  to  lay  off  the  country  on  a  great 
scheme  of  improvement,  with  the  power  to  shorten 
distances,  reduce  heights,  level  mountains,  and  pave 
surfaces. 

"  If  the  United  States  possessed  the  power  contended 
for  under  this  grant,  might  they  not,  in  adopting  the 
roads  of  the  individual  states  for  the  carriage  of  the 
mail,  as  has  been  done,  assume  jurisdiction  over  them, 
and  preclude  a  right  to  interfere  with  or  alter  them  1 
Might  they  not  establish  turnpikes,  and  exercise  all 
the  other  acts  of  sovereignty,  above  stated,  over  such 
roads,  necessary  to  protect  them  from  injury,  and 
defray  the  expense  of  repairing  them  1  Surely,  if  the 
right  exists,  these  consequences  necessarily  followed, 
as  soon  as  the  road  was  established.  The  absurdity 
of  such  a  pretension  must  be  apparent  to  all  who 
examine  it.  In  this  way  a  large  portion  of  the  terri 
tory  of  every  state  might  be  taken  from  it,  for  there 
is  scarcely  a  road  in  any  state  which  will  not  be  used 
for  the  transportation  of  the  mail.  A  new  field  for 
legislation  and  internal  improvement  would  thus  be 
opened. 

"  From  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  think  that  we  may 
fairly  conclude,  that  the  right  to  adopt  and  execute  a 
system  of  internal  improvement,  or  any  part  of  it, 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  365 

has  not  been  granted  to  Congress  under  the  power  to 
establish  postoffices  and  postroads  ;  that  the  common 
roads  of  the  country  only  were  contemplated  by  that 
grant,  and  are  fully  competent  to  all  its  purposes. 

"  The  next  object  of  inquiry  is,  whether  the  right 
to  declare  war  includes  the  right  to  adopt  and  execute 
this  system  of  improvement  1  The  objections  to  it 
are,  I  presume,  not  less  conclusive  than  those  which 
are  applicable  to  the  grant  which  we  have  just  exa 
mined. 

"  Under  the  last-mentioned  grant,  a  claim  has  been 
set  up  to  as  much  of  that  system  as  relates  to  roads. 
Under  this,  it  extends  alike  to  roads  and  canals. 

"  We  must  examine  this  grant  by  the  same  rules  of 
construction  that  were  applied  to  the  preceding  one. 
The  object  was  to  take  this  power  from  the  individual 
states,  and  to  vest  it  in  the  general  government.  This 
has  been  done  in  clear  and  explicit  terms — first,  by 
granting  the  power  to  Congress,  and,  secondly,  by 
prohibiting  the  exercise  of  it  by  the  states.  Congress 
shall  have  a  right  to  declare  war.  This  is  the  language 
of  the  grant.  If  the  right  to  adopt  and  execute  this 
system  of  improvement  is  included  in  it,  it  must  be  by 
way  of  incident  only,  since  there  is  nothing  in  the  grant 
itself  which  bears  any  relation  to  roads  and  canals. 
The  following  considerations,  it  is  presumed,  proved, 
incontestably,  that  this  power  has  not  been  granted 
in  that  or  any  other  manner. 

"The  United  States  are  exposed  to  invasion  through 
the  whole  extent  of  their  Atlantic  coast,  by  any  Eu- 


366 

rope  an  power  with  whom  we  might  be  engaged  in 
war  ;  on  the  northern  and  northwestern  frontier,  on 
the  side  of  Canada,  by  Great  Britain,  and  on  the 
southern  by  Spain,  or  any  power  in  alliance  with  her. 
If  internal  improvements  are  to  be  carried  to  the  full 
extent  to  which  they  may  be  useful  for  military  pur 
poses,  the  power,  as  it  exists,  must  apply  to  all  the 
roads  of  the  Union,  there  being  no  limitation  to  it. 
Wherever  such  improvements  may  facilitate  the 
march  of  troops,  the  transportation  of  cannon,  or 
otherwise  aid  the  operations,  or  mitigate  the  calamities 
of  war  along  the  coast,  or  in  any  part  of  the  interior, 
they  would  be  useful  for  military  purposes,  and  might 
therefore  be  made.  The  power  following  as  an  inci 
dent  to  another  power  can  be  measured,  as  to  its  ex 
tent,  by  reference  only  to  the  obvious  extent  of  the 
power  to  which  it  is  incidental.  So  great  a  scope 
was,  it  is  believed,  never  given  to  incidental  power. 

"  If  it  had  been  intended  that  the  right  to  declare 
war  should  include  all  the  powers  necessary  to  main 
tain  war,  it  would  follow  that  nothing  would  have 
been  done  to  impair  the  right,  or  to  restrain  Congress 
from  the  exercise  of  any  power  which  the  exigencies 
of  war  might  require.  The  nature  and  extent  of  this 
exigency  would  mark  the  extent  of  the  power  granted, 
which  should  always  be  construed  liberally,  so  as  to 
be  adequate  to  the  end.  A  right  to  raise  money  by 
taxes,  duties,  excises,  and  by  loan  ;  to  raise  and  sup 
port  armies  and  a  navy ;  to  provide  for  calling  forth, 
arming,  disciplining,  and  governing  the  militia,  when 


367 

in  the  service  of  the  United  States  ;  establishing  forti 
fications,  and  governing  the  troops  stationed  in  them, 
independently  of  the  state  authorities,  and  to  perform 
many  other  acts,  is  indispensable  to  the  maintenance 
of  war.  No  war  with  any  great  power  can  be  pro 
secuted  with  success  without  the  command  of  the 
resources  of  the  Union  in  all  these  respects.  These 
powers,  then,  would,  of  necessity,  and  by  common 
consent,  have  fallen  within  the  right  to  declare  war, 
had  it  been  intended  to  convey,  by  way  of  incident  to 
that  right,  the  necessary  powers  to  maintain  war. 
But  these  powers  have  all  been  granted  specifically, 
with  many  others,  in  great  detail,  which  experience 
had  shown  were  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  war. 
By  specifically  granting,  then,  these  powers,  it  is 
manifest  that  every  power  was  thus  granted  which  it 
was  intended  to  grant,  for  military  purposes ;  and  that 
it  was  also  intended  that  no  important  power  should 
be  included  in  this  grant  by  way  of  incident,  however 
useful  it  might  be  for  some  of  the  purposes  of  the 
grant. 

"  By  the  sixteenth  of  the  enumerated  powers,  arti 
cle  i,  sect.  8,  Congress  are  authorized  to  exercise 
exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatever  over  such 
district  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  states,  and 
the  acceptance  of  Congress,  not  exceeding  ten  miles 
square,  become  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all 
places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of 
the  state  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection 


368 

of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other 
useful  buildings.  If  any  doubt  existed  on  a  view  of 
the  other  parts  of  the  constitution  respecting  the  deci 
sion  which  ought  to  be  formed  on  the  question  under 
consideration,  I  should  suppose  that  this  clause  would 
completely  remove  it.  It  has  been  shown,  after  the 
most  liberal  construction  of  all  the  enumerated  powers 
of  the  general  government,  that  the  territory  within 
the  limits  of  the  respective  states  belonged  to  them  ; 
that  the  United  States  had  no  right,  under  the  powers 
granted  to  them,  with  the  exception  specified  in  this 
grant,  to  any  the  smallest  portion  of  territory  within 
a  state,  all  those  powers  operating  on  a  different  prin 
ciple,  and  having  their  full  effect  without  impairing, 
in  the  slightest  degree,  this  right  in  the  states  ;  that 
those  powers  were,  in  every  instance,  means  to  ends, 
which,  being  accomplished,  left  the  subject,  that  is, 
the  property,  in  which  light  only  land  could  be  regard 
ed,  where  it  was  before — under  the  jurisdiction,  and 
subject  to  the  laws,  of  the  state  governments. 

"  The  second  number  of  the  clause,  which  is  appli 
cable  to  military  and  naval  purposes  alone,  claims 
particular  attention  here.  It  fully  confirms  the  view 
taken  of  the  other  enumerated  powers ;  for,  had  it 
been  intended  to  include  in  the  right  to  declare  war, 
by  way  of  incident,  any  right  of  jurisdiction  or  legis 
lation  over  territory  within  a  state,  it  would  have 
been  done  as  to  fortifications,  magazines,  arsenals, 
dockyards,  and  other  needful  buildings.  By  specifi 
cally  granting  the  right,  as  to  such  small  portions  of 


MONROE  8     ADMINISTRATION.  369 

territory  as  might  be  necessary  for  these  purposes, 
and  on  certain  conditions,  minutely  and  well  defined, 
it  is  manifest  that  it  was  not  intended  to  grant  it,  as 
to  any  other  portion,  on  any  condition,  for  any  pur 
pose,  or  in  any  manner  whatsoever. 

"  It  may  be  said  that,  although  the  authority  to 
exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  certain  cases,  within 
the  states,  with  their  consent,  may  be  considered  as  a 
prohibition  to  Congress  to  exercise  like  exclusive  legis 
lation  in  any  other  case,  although  their  consent  should 
be  granted,  it  does  not  prohibit  the  exercise  of  such 
jurisdiction  or  power,  within  a  state,  as  would  be 
competent  to  all  the  purposes  of  internal  improvement. 
I  can  conceive  no  ground  on  which  the  idea  of  such 
a  power  over  any  part  of  the  territory  of  a  state  can 
be  inferred  from  the  power  to  declare  war.  There 
never  can  be  an  occasion  for  jurisdiction  for  military 
purposes,  except  in  fortifications,  dockyards,  and  the 
like  places.  If  the  soldiers  are  in  the  field,  or  are 
quartered  in  garrisons  without  the  fortifications,  the 
civil  authority  must  prevail  where  they  are.  The 
government  of  the  troops  by  martial  law  is  not  affect 
ed  by  it.  In  war,  when  the  forces  are  increased,  and 
the  movement  is  on  a  greater  scale,  consequences  fol 
low  which  are  inseparable  from  the  exigencies  of  the 
state.  More  freedom  of  action,  and  a  wider  range  of 
power,  in  the  military  commanders,  to  be  exercised 
on  their  own  responsibility,  may  be  necessary  to  the 
public  safety ;  but,  even  here,  the  civil  authority  of 
the  state  never  ceases  to  operate.  It  is  also  exclusive 
for  all  civil  purposes. 


370 

"  Whether  any  power,  short  of  that  stated,  would 
be  adequate  to  the  purposes  of  internal  improvement, 
is  denied.  In  the  case  of  territory,  one  government 
must  prevail  for  all  the  purposes  intended  by  the 
grant.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  might 
be  modified  in  such  manner  as  to  admit  that  of  the 
state  in  all  cases  and  for  all  purposes  not  necessary  to 
the  execution  of  the  proposed  power.  But  the  right 
of  the  general  government  must  be  complete  for  all 
the  purposes  above  stated.  It  must  extend  to  the 
seizure  and  condemnation  of  the  property,  if  neces 
sary  ;  to  the  punishment  of  offenders  for  injuries  to 
the  roads  and  canals  ;  to  the  establishment  and  enforce 
ment  of  tolls,  &c.,  &c.  It  must  be  a  complete  right, 
to  the  extent  above  stated,  or  it  will  be  of  no  avail. 
That  right  does  not  exist. 

"  The  reasons  which  operate  in  favor  of  the  right 
of  exclusive  legislation  in  forts,  dockyards,  &c.,  do  not 
apply  to  any  other  places.  The  safety  of  such  works, 
and  of  the  cities  which  they  are  intended  to  defend, 
and  even  of  whole  communities,  may  sometimes  de 
pend  on  it.  If  spies  are  admitted  within  them  in  time 
of  war,  they  might  communicate  intelligence  to  the 
enemy  which  might  be  fatal.  All  nations  surround 
such  works  with  high  walls,  and  keep  their  gates  shut. 
Even  here,  however,  three  important  conditions  are 
indispensable*!*)  such  exclusive  legislation  :  First.  The 
ground  must  be  requisite  for,  and  be  applied  to,  those 
purposes.  Second.  It  must  be  purchased.  Third.  It 
must  be  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  state  in 


to! 


371 


which  it  may  be.  When  we  find  that  so  mueh  care 
has  been  taken  to  protect  the  sovereignty  of  the  states 
over  the  territory  within  their  respective  limits,  admit 
ting  that  of  the  United  States  over  such  small  porfions 
and  for  such  special  and  important  purposes  only,  the 
conclusion  is  irresistible,  not  only  that  the  power 
necessary  for  internal  improvements  has  not  been 
granted,  but  that  it  has  been  clearly  prohibited. 

"  I  come  next  to  the  right  to  regulate  commerce, 
the  third  source  from  whence  the  right  to  make  inter 
nal  improvements  is  claimed.  It  is  expressed  in  the 
following  words  :  "  Congress  shall  have  power  to 
regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among 
the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes."  The 
reasoning  applicable  to  the  preceding  claims  is  equally 
so  to  this.  The  mischief  complained  of  was,  that  this 
power  could  not  be  exercised  with  advantage  by  the 
individual  states,  and  the  object  was  to  transfer  it  to 
the  United  States.  The  sense  in  which  the  power 
was  understood  and  exercised  by  the  states,  was 
doubtless  that  in  which  it  was  transferred  to  the  United 
States.  The  policy  was  the  same  as  to  three  branches 
of  this  grant,  and  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  separate 
the  first  two  from  each  of  the  other,  in  any  view 
which  may  be  taken  of  the  subject.  The  last,  relating 
to  the  Indian  tribes,  is  of  a  nature  distinct  from  the 
others,  for  reasons  too  well  known  to«require  expla 
nation.  Commerce  between  independent  powers  or 
communities  is  universally  regulated  by  duties  and 
imposts.  It  was  so  regulated  by  the  states  before  the 


372  MONROE  S    ADMINISTRATION. 

adoption  of  this  constitution,  equally  in  respect  to  each 
other  and  to  foreign  powers.  The  goods  and  vessels 
employed  in  the  trade  are  the  only  subjects  of  regula 
tion.  It  can  act  on  none  other.  A  power,  then,  to 
impose  such  duties  and  imposts,  in  regard  to  foreign 
nations,  and  to  prevent  any  on  the  trade  between  the 
states,  was  the  only  power  granted. 

"If  we  recur  to  the  causes  which  produced  the 
adoption  of  this  constitution,  we  shall  find  that  injuries, 
resulting  from  the  regulation  of  trade  by  the  states, 
respectively,  and  the  advantages  anticipated  from  the 
transfer  of  the  power  to  Congress,  were  among  those 
which  had  the  most  weight.  Instead  of  acting  as  a 
nation  in  regard  to  foreign  powers,  the  states,  individ 
ually,  had  commenced  a  system  of  restraint  on  each 
other,  whereby  the  interests  of  foreign  powers  were 
promoted  at  their  expense.  If  one  state  imposed  high 
duties  on  the  goods  or  vessels  of  a  foreign  power,  to 
countervail  the  regulations  of  such  power,  the  next 
adjoining  states  imposed  lower  duties,  to  invite  those 
articles  into  their  ports,  that  they  might  be  transferred 
thence  into  the  other  states,  securing  the  duties  to 
themselves.  This  contracted  policy  in  some  of  the 
states  was  soon  counteracted  by  others.  Restraints 
were  immediately  laid  on  such  commerce  by  the  suf 
fering  states,  and  thus  had  grown  up  a  state  of  affairs, 
disorderly  anc^  unnatural,  the  tendency  of  which  was 
to  destroy  the  Union  itself,  and  with  it,  all  hope  of 
realizing  those  blessings  which  we  had  anticipated 
from  the  glorious  revolution  which  had  been  so  re- 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  373 

cently  achieved.  From  this  deplorable  dilemma,  or 
rather  certain  ruin,  we  were  happily  rescued  by  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution. 

"  Among  the  first  and  most  important  effects  of  this 
great  revolution,  was  the  complete  abolition  of  this 
pernicious  policy.  The  states  were  brought  together 
by  the  constitution,  as  to  commerce,  into  one  commu 
nity,  equally,  in  regard  to  foreign  nations  and  each 
other.  The  regulations  that  were  adopted,  regarded 
us,  in  both  respects,  as  one  people.  The  duties  and 
imposts  that  were  laid  on  the  vessels  and  merchandise 
of  foreign  nations,  were  all  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States,  and,  in  the  intercourse  between  the 
states  themselves,  no  duties  of  any  kind  were  imposed, 
other  than  between  different  ports  and  counties  with 
in  the  same  state. 

"This  view  is  supported  by  a  series  of  measures,  all 
of  a  marked  character,  preceding  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution.  As  early  as  the  year  1781,  Congress 
recommended  it  to  the  states  to  vest  in  the  United 
States  a  power  to  levy  a  duty  of  five  per  cent  on  all 
goods  imported  from  foreign  countries  into  the  United 
States,  for  the  term  of  fifteen  years.  In  1783,  this 
recommendation,  with  alterations  as  to  the  kind  of 
duties,  and  an  extension  of  this  term  to  twenty-five 
years,  was  repeated,  and  more  earnestly  urged.  In 
1784,  it  was  recommended  to  the  states  to  authorize 
Congress  to  prohibit,  under  certain  modifications,  the 
importation  of  goods  from  foreign  powers  into  the 
United  States  for  fifteen  years.  In  1785,  the  consid- 


'374  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

eration  of  the  subject  was  resumed,  and  a  proposition 
presented  in  a  new  form,  with  an  address  to  the  states, 
explaining  fully  the  principles  on  which  a  grant  of  the 
power  to  regulate  trade  was  deemed  indispensable. 
In  1786,  a  meeting  took  place  at  Annapolis,  of  dele 
gates  from  several  of  the  states,  on  this  subject,  and, 
on  their  report,  a  convention  was  formed  at  Philadel 
phia,  the  ensuing  year,  from  all  the  states,  to  whose 
deliberations  we  are  indebted  for  the  present  consti 
tution. 

"  In  none  of  these  measures  was  the  subject  of  inter 
nal  improvement  mentioned,  or  even  glanced  at. 
Those  of  1784,  '5,  '6,  and  '7,  leading,  step  by  step,  to 
the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  had  in  view,  only,  the 
obtaining  of  a  power  to  enable  Congress  to  regulate 
trade  with  foreign  powers.  It  is  manifest  that  the 
regulation  of  trade  with  the  several  states,  was  alto 
gether  a  secondary  object,  suggested  by  and  adopted 
in  conn^ion  with  the  other.  If  the  power  necessary 
to  this  system  of  improvement  is  included  under  either 
branch  of  this  grant,  I  should  suppose  that  it  was  the 
first,  rather  than  the  second.  The  pretension  to  it, 
however,  under  that  branch,  has  never  been  set  up. 
In  support  of  the  claim,  under  the  second,  no  reason 
has  been  assigned  which  appears  to  have  the  least 
weight. 

"The  fourth  claim  is  founded  on  the  right  of  Con 
gress  to  "pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common 
defence  and  general  welfare"  of  the  United  States. 
This  claim  has  less  reason  on  its  side  than  either  of 


375 

those  which  we  have  already  examined.  The  power 
of  which  this  forms  a  part  is  expressed  in  the  follow 
ing  words  :  "Congress  shall  have  power  to  lay  and 
collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  ;  to  pay  the 
debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  gene 
ral  welfare  of  the  United  States  ;  but  all  duties,  im 
posts,  and  excises,  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States." 

"  That  the  second  part  of  this  grant  gives  a  right  to 
appropriate  the  public  money,  and  nothing  more,  is 
evident  from  the  following  considerations  :  First,  if 
the  right  of  appropriation  is  not  given  by  this  clause, 
it  is  not  given  at  all,  there  being  no  other  grant  in  the 
constitution  which  gives  it  directly,  or  which  has  any 
bearing  on  the  subject,  even  by  implication,  except  the 
two  following  :  first,  the  prohibition,  which  is  con 
tained  in  the  eleventh  of  the  enumerated  powers,  not 
to  appropriate  money  for  the  support  of  armies  for  a 
longer  term  than  two  years  ;  and,  secondly,  the  decla 
ration  in  the  sixth  member  or  clause  of  the  ninth  sec 
tion  of  the  first  article,  that  no  money  shall  be  drawn 
from  the  treasury,  but  in  consequence  of  appropria 
tions  made  by  law.  Secondly,  this  part  of  the  grant, 
has  none  of  the  characteristics  of  a  distinct  and  origi 
nal  power.  It  is  manifestly  incidental  to  the  great 
objects  of  the  first  branch  of  the  grant,  which  author 
izes  Congress  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts, 
and  excises  ;  a  power  of  vast  extent,  not  granted  by 
the  confederation,  the  grant  of  which  formed  one  of 
the  principal  inducements  to  the  adoption  of  this  con- 


376 

stitution.  If  both  parts  of  the  grant  are  taken  togeth 
er,  as  they  must  be,  for  the  one  follows  immediately 
after  the  other  in  the  same  sentence,  it  seems  to  be 
impossible  to  give  to  the  latter  any  other  construction 
than  that  contended  for.  Congress  shall  have  power 
to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises. 
For  what  purpose  1  To  pay  the  debts  and  provide 
for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the 
United  States — an  arrangement  and  phraseology 
which  clearly  show  that  the  latter  part  of  the  clause 
was  intended  to  enumerate  the  purposes  to  which  the 
money  thus  raised  might  be  appropriated.  Thirdly, 
if  this  is  not  the  real  object  and  fair  construction  of 
the  second  part  of  this  grant,  it  follows  either  that  it 
has  no  import  or  operation  whatever,  or  one  of  much 
greater  extent  than  the  first  part.  This  presumption 
is  evidently  groundless  in  both  instances  ;  in  the  first, 
because  no  part  of  the  constitution  can  be  considered 
as  useless  ;  no  sentence  or  clause  in  it  without  a  mean 
ing.  In  the  second,  because  such  a  construction  as 
made  the  second  part  of  the  clause  an  original  grant, 
embracing  the  same  object  with  the  first,  but  with 
much  greater  power  than  it,  would  be  in  the  highest 
degree  absurd.  The  order  generally  observed  in 
grants,  an  order  founded  in  common  sense,  since  it 
promotes  a  clear  understanding  of  their  import,  is  to 
grant  the  power  intended  to  be  conveyed  in  the  most 
full  and  explicit  manner,  and  then  to  explain  or  qualify 
it,  if  explanation  or  qualification  should  be  necessary. 
This  order  has,  it  is  believed,  been  invariably  observed, 


377 

in  all  the  grants  contained  in  the  constitution.  In  the 
second,  because,  if  the  clause  in  question  is  not  con 
strued  merely  as  an  authority  to  appropriate  the  public 
money,  it  must  be  obvious  that  it  conveys  a  power  of 
indefinite  and  unlimited  extent ;  that  there  would  have 
been  no  use  for  the  special  powers  to  raise  and  sup 
port  armies  and  a  navy  ;  to  regulate  commerce  ;  to 
call  forth  the  militia  ;  or  even  to  lay  and  collect  taxes, 
duties,  imposts,  and  excises.  An  unqualified  power 
to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence 
and  general  welfare,  as  the  second  part  of  this  clause 
would  be,  if  considered  as  a  distinct  and  separate  grant, 
would  extend  to  every  object  in  which  the  public  could 
be  interested.  A  power  to  provide  for  the  common 
defence  would  give  to  Congress  the  command  of  the 
whole  force,  and  of  all  the  resources  of  the  Union  ; 
but  a  right  to  provide  for  the  general  welfare  would 
go  much  further.  It  would,  in  effect,  break  down  all 
the  barriers  between  the  states  and  the  general  gov 
ernment,  and  consolidate  the  whole  under  the  latter. 

"  The  powers  specifically  granted  to  Congress,  are 
what  are  called  the  enumerated  powers,  and  are  num 
bered  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand,  among  which 
that  contained  in  the  first  clause  holds  the  first  place  in 
point  of  importance.  If  the  power  created  by  the 
latter  part  of  the  clause  is  considered  an  original  grant, 
unconnected  with,  and  independent  of,  the  first,  as  in 
that  case  it  must  be,  then  the  first  part  is  entirely 
done  away,  as  are  all  the  other  grants  in  the  constitu 
tion,  being  completely  absorbed  in  the  transcendant 


378 

power  granted  in  the  latter  part.  But  if  the  clause  be 
construed  in  the  sense  contended  for,  then  every  part 
has  an  important  meaning  and  effect ;  not  a  line,  a 
word,  in  it  is  superfluous.  A  power  to  lay  and  collect 
taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  subjects  to  the  call 
of  Congress  every  branch  of  the  public  revenue,  in 
ternal  and  external ;  and  the  addition,  to  pay  the  debts 
and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  wel 
fare,  gives  the  right  of  applying  the  money  raised, 
that  is,  of  appropriating  it  to  the  purposes  specified, 
according  to  a  proper  construction  of  the  terms. 
Hence  it  follows,  that  it  is  the  first  part  of  the  clause 
only,  which  gives  a  power  which  affects  in  any  man 
ner  the  power  remaining  to  the  states  ;  as  the  power 
to  raise  money  from  the  people,  whether  it  be  by  taxes, 
duties,  imposts,  or  excises,  though  concurrent  in  the 
states,  as  to  taxes  and  excises,  must  necessarily  do. 
But  the  use  or  application  of  the  money,  after  it  is 
raised,  is  a  power  altogether  of  a  different  character. 
It  imposed  no  burden  on  the  people,  nor  can  it  act  on 
them  in  a  sense  to  take  power  from  the  states,  or  in 
any  sense  in  which  power  can  be  controverted,  or  be 
come  a  question  between  the  two  governments.  The 
application  of  money,  raised  under  a  lawful  power,  is 
a  right  or  grant  which  may  be  abused.  It  may  be 
applied  partially  among  the  states,  or  to  improper 
purposes  in  our  foreign  and  domestic  concerns  ;  but, 
still,  it  is  a  power  not  felt  in  the  sense  of  other  powers, 
since  the  only  complaint  which  any  state  can  make  of 
such  partiality  and  abuse  is,  that  some  other  state  or 


379 

states  have  obtained  greater  benefit  from  the  applica 
tion,  than  by  a  just  rule  of  apportionment  they  were 
entitled  to.  The  right  of  appropriation  is,  therefore, 
from  its  nature,  secondary  and  incidental  to  the  right 
of  raising  money,  and  it  was  proper  to  place  it  in  -the 
same  grant  and  same  clause  with  that  right.  By 
finding  them,  then,  in  that  order,  we  see  a  new  proof 
of  the  sense  in  which  the  grant  was  made,  correspond 
ing  with  the  view  herein  taken  of  it. 

"  The  last  part  of  this  grant,  which  provides  that 
all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States,  furn  shes  another  strong 
proof  that  it  was  not  intended  that  the  second  part 
should  constitute  a  distinct  grant,  in  the  sense  above 
stated,  or  convey  any  other  right  than  that  of  appro 
priation.  This  provision  operates  exclusively  on  the 
power  granted  in  the  first  part  of  the  clause.  It  re 
cites  three  branches  of  that  power — duties,  imposts, 
and  excises — those  only  on  which  it  could  operate  ; 
the  rule  by  which  the  fourth,  that  is,  taxes,  should  be 
laid,  being  already  provided  for  in  another  part  of  the 
constitution.  The  object  of  this  provision  is,  to  secure 
a  just  equality  among  the  states  in  the  exercise  of  that 
power  by  Congress.  By  placing  it  after  both  the 
grants,  that  is,  after  that  to  raise  and  that  to  appro 
priate  the  public  money,  and  making  it  apply  to  the 
first  only,  shows  that  it  was  not  intended  that  the 
power  granted  in  the  second  should  be  paramount  to, 
and  destroy  that  granted  in  the  first.  It  shows,  also, 
that  no  such  formidable  power  as  that  suggested  had 


380 

been  granted  in  the  second,  or  any  power,  against  the 
abuse  of  which  it  was  thought  necessary  specially  to 
provide.  Surely,  if  it  was  deemed  proper  to  guard  a 
specific  power  of  limited  extent  and  well-known  im 
port,  against  injustice  and  abuse,  it  would  have  been 
much  more  so  to  have  guarded  against  the  abuse  of  a 
power  of  such  vast  extent,  and  so  indefinite,  as  would 
have  been  granted  by  the  second  part  of  the  clause, 
if  considered  as  a  distinct  and  original  grant. 

"  With  this  construction,  all  the  other  enumerated 
grants,  and  indeed  all  the  grants  of  power,  contained 
in  the  constitution,  have  their  full  operation  and  effect. 
They  all  stand  well  together,  fulfilling  the  great  pur 
poses  intended  by  them.  Under  it  we  behold  a  great 
scheme,  consistent  in  all  its  parts,  a  government  insti 
tuted  for  national  purposes,  vested  with  adequate 
powers  for  those  purposes,  commencing  with  the  most 
important  of  all,  that  of  revenue,  and  proceeding,  in 
regular  order,  to  the  others,  with  which  it  was  deemed 
proper  to  endow  it,  all  too  drawn  with  the  utmost 
circumspection  and  care.  How  much  more  consistent 
is  this  construction,  with  the  great  objects  of  the 
institution,  and  with  the  high  character  of  the  enlight 
ened  and  patriotic  citizens  who  framed  it,  as  well  as 
of  those  who  ratified  it,  than  one  which  subverts  every 
sound  principle  and  rule  of  construction  and  throws 
everything  into  confusion. 

"I  have  dwelt  thus  long  on  this  part  of  the  subject, 
from  an  earnest  desire  to  fix,  in  a  clear  and  satisfac 
tory  manner,  the  import  of  the  second  part  of  this 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  381 

grant,  well  knowing,  from  the  generality  of  the  terms 
used,  their  tendency  to  lead  into  error.  !  I  indulge  a 
strong  hope  that  the  view  herein  presented  will  not 
be  without  effect,  but  will  tend  to  satisfy  the  unpre 
judiced  and  impartial  that  nothing  more  was  granted, 
by  that  part,  than  a  power  to  appropriate  the  public 
money  raised  under  the  other  part.  To  what  extent 
that  power  may  be  carried  will  be  the  next  object  of 
inquiry. 

"It  is  contended,  on  the  one  side,  that,  as  the 
national  government  is  a  government  of  limited  pow 
ers,  it  has  no  right  to  expend  money,  except  in  the 
performance  of  acts  authorized  by  the  other  specific 
grants,  according  to  a  strict  construction  of  their 
powers  ;  that  this  grant,  in  neither  of  its  branches, 
gives  to  Congress  discretionary  power  of  any  kind, 
but  is  a  mere  instrument,  in  its  hands,  to  carry  into 
effect  the  powers  contained  in  the  other  grants.  To 
this  construction  1  was  inclined  in  the  more  early 
stage  of  our  government ;  but,  on  further  reflection 
and  observation,  my  mind  has  undergone  a  change, 
for  reasons  which  I  will  frankly  unfold. 

11  The  grant  consists,  as  heretofore  observed,  of  a 
twofold  power  ;  the  first  to  raise,  and  the  second  to 
appropriate,  the  public  money,  and  the  terms  used  in 
both  instances  are  general  and  unqualified.  Each 
branch  was  obviously  drawn  with  a  view  to  the  other, 
and  the  import  of  each  tends  to  illustrate  that  of  the 
other.  The  grant  to  raise  money  gives  a  power  over 
every  subject  from  which  revenue  may  be  drawn,  and 


382 

is  made  in  the  same  manner  with  the  grants  to  declare 
war,  to  raise  and  support  armies  and  a  navy,  to  regu 
late  commerce,  to  establish  postoffices  and  postroads, 
and  with  all  the  other  specific  grants  to  the  genera) 
government.  In  the  discharge  of  the  powers  contained 
in  any  of  these  grants,  these  is  no  other  check  than 
that  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  great  principles  of  our 
system,  the  responsibility  of  the  representative  to  his 
constituents.  If  war,  for  example,  is  necessary,  and 
Congress  declare  it  for  good  cause,  their  constituents 
will  support  them  in  it.  A  like  support  will  be  given 
them  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties  under 
any  and  every  other  power  vested  in  the  United 
States.  It  affords  to  the  friends  of  our  free  govern 
ments  the  most  heartfelt  consolation  to  know,  and 
from  the  best  evidence,  our  own  experience,  that,  in 
great  emergencies,  the  boldest  measures,  such  as  form 
the  strongest  appeals  to  the  virtue  and  patriotism  of 
the  people,  are  sure  to  obtain  their  most  decided 
approbation.  But  should  the  representative  act  cor 
ruptly,  and  betray  his  trust,  or  otherwise  prove  that 
he  was  unworthy  of  the  confidence  of  his  constituents, 
he  would  be  equally  sure  to  lose  it,  and  to  be  removed 
and  otherwise  censured,  according  to  his  deserts.  The 
power  to  raise  money  by  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and 
excises,  is  alike  unqualified,  nor  do  I  see  any  check  on 
the  exercise  of  it,  other  than  that  which  applies  to  the 
other  powers  above  recited,  the  responsibility  of  the 
representative  to  his  constituents.  Congress  know 
the  extent  of  the  public  engagements,  and  the  sums 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  383 

necessary  to  meet  them  ;  they  know  how  much  may 
be  derived  from  each  branch  of  revenue,  without  press 
ing  it  too  far  ;  and,  paying  due  regard  to  the  interests 
of  the  people,  they  likewise  know  which  branch  ought 
to  be  resorted  to,  in  the  first  instance.  From  the 
commencement  of  the  government,  two  branches  of 
this  power,  duties  and  imposts,  have  been  in  constant 
operation,  the  revenue  from  which  has  supported  the 
government  in  its  various  branches,  and  met  its  other 
ordinary  engagements.  In  great  emergencies,  the 
other  two,  taxes  and  excises,  have  likewise  been  re 
sorted  to,  and  neither  was  the  right  nor  the  policy 
ever  called  in  question. 

"  If  we  look  to  the  second  branch  of  this  power,  that 
which  authorizes  the  appropriation  of  the  money  thus 
raised,  we  find  that  it  is  not  less  general  and  unquali 
fied  than  the  power  to  raise  it.  More  comprehensive 
terms  than  to  "pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  com 
mon  defence  and  general  welfare,"  could  not  have 
been  used.  So  intimately  connected  with,  and  depen 
dent  on,  each  other,  are  these  two  branches  of  power, 
that,  had  either  been  limited,  the  limitation  would  have 
had  the  like  effect  on  the  other.  Had  the  power  to 
raise  money  been  conditional,  or  restricted  to  special 
purposes,  the  appropriation  must  have  corresponded 
with  it,  for  none  but  the  money  raised  could  be  appro 
priated,  nor  could  it  be  appropriated  to  other  purposes 
than  those  which  were  permitted.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  right  of  appropriation  had  been  restricted  to 
certain  purposes,  it  would  be  useless  and  improper  to 


384  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

raise  more  than  would  be  adequate  to  those  purposes. 
It  may  fairly  be  inferred  that  these  restraints  or  checks 
have  been  carefully  and  intentionally  avoided.  The 
power,  in  each  branch,  is  alike  broad  and  unqualified, 
and  each  is  drawn  with  peculiar  fitness  to  the  other  ; 
the  latter  requiring  terms  of  great  extent  and  force 
to  accommodate  the  former,  which  have  been  adopted, 
and  both  placed  in  the  same  clause  and  sentence. 
Can  it  be  presumed  that  all  these  circumstances  were 
so  nicely  adjusted  by  mere  accident?  Is  it  not  more 
just  to  conclude  that  they  were  the  result  of  due  de 
liberation  and  design]  Had  it  been  intended  that 
Congress  should  be  restricted  in  the  appropriation  of 
the  public  money  to  such  expenditures  as  were  author 
ized  by  a  rigid  construction  of  the  other  specific  grants, 
how  easy  would  it  have  been  to  have  provided  for  it 
by  a  declaration  to  that  effect.  The  omission  of  such 
declaration  is,  therefore,  an  additional  proof  that  it 
was  not  intended  that  the  grant  should  be  so  construed. 
"It  was  evidently  impossible  to  have  subjected  this 
grant,  in  either  branch,  to  such  restriction,  without 
exposing  the  government  to  very  serious  embarrass 
ment.  How  carry  it  into  effect?  If  the  grant  had 
been  made  in  any  degree  dependent  upon  the  states, 
the  government  would  have  experienced  the  fate  of 
the  confederation.  Like  it,  i.t  would  have  withered  and 
soon  perished.  Had  the  supreme  court  been  author 
ized,  or  should  any  other  tribunal,  distinct  from  the 
government,  be  authorized,  to  interpose  its  veto,  and 
to  say  that  more  money  had  been  raised  under  either 


MONROE  S    ADMINISTRATION.  385 

branch  of  this  power,  that  is,  by  taxes,  duties,  imposts, 
or  excises,  than  was  necessary  ;  that  such  a  tax  or 
duty  was  useless ;  that  the  appropriation  to  this  or 
that  purpose  was  unconstitutional ;  the  movement 
might  have  been  suspended,  and  the  whole  system 
disorganized.  It  was  impossible  to  have  created  a 
power  within  the  government,  or  any  other  power 
distinct  from  Congress  and  the  executive,  which 
should  control  the  movement  of  the  government  in 
this  respect,  and  not  destroy  it.  Had  it  been  declared, 
by  a  clause  in  the  constitution,  that  the  expenditures 
under  this  grant  should  be  restricted  to  the  construc 
tion  which  might  be  given  of  the  other  grants,  such 
restraint,  though  the  most  innocent,  could  not  have 
failed  to  have  had  an  injurious  effect  on  the  vital  prin 
ciples  of  the  government,  and  often  on  its  most  impor 
tant  measures.  Those  who  might  wish  to  defeat  a 
measure  proposed,  might  construe  the  power  relied 
on  in  support  of  it  in  a  narrow  and  contracted  man 
ner,  and  in  that  way  fix  a  precedent  inconsistent  with 
the  true  import  of  the  grant.  At  other  times,  those 
who  favored  a  measure,  might  give  to  the  power 
relied  on  a  forced  or  strained  construction,  and  suc 
ceeding  in  the  object,  fix  a  precedent  in  the  opposite 
extreme.  Thus  it  is  manifest,  that,  if  the  right  of 
appropriation  be  confined  to  that  limit,  measures  may 
oftentimes  be  carried,  or  defeated,  by  considerations 
and  motives  altogether  independent  of,  and  uncon 
nected  with,  their  merits  and  the  several  powers  of 
Congress,  receive  constructions  equally  inconsistent 


386 

with  their  true  import.  No  such  declaration,  how 
ever,  has  been  made,  and  from  the  fair  import  of  the 
grant,  and,  indeed,  its  positive  terms,  the  inference 
that  such  was  intended  seems  to  be  precluded. 

"  Many  considerations  of  great  weight  operate  in 
favor  of  this  construction,  while  I  do  not  perceive  any 
serious  objection  to  it.  If  it  be  established,  it  follows 
that  the  words,  "  to  provide  for  the  common  defence 
and  general  welfare,"  have  a  definite,  safe,  and  useful 
meaning.  The  idea  of  their  forming  an  original  grant, 
with  unlimited  power,  superseding  every  other  grant, 
is  abandoned.  They  will  be  considered,  simply,  as 
conveying  a  right  of  appropriation  ;  a  right  indispen- 
able  to  that  of  raising  a  revenue,  and  necessary  to 
expenditures  under  every  grant.  By  it,  as  already 
observed,  no  new  power  will  be  taken  from  the  states, 
the  money  to  be  appropriated  being  raised  under  a 
power  already  granted  to  Congress.  By  it,  too,  the 
motive  for  giving  a  forced  or  strained  construction  to 
any  of  the  other  specific  grants  will,  in  most  instances, 
be  diminished,  and,  in  many,  utterly  destroyed.  The 
importance  of  this  consideration  can  not  be  too  highly 
estimated,  since,  in  addition  to  the  examples  already 
given,  it  ought  particularly  to  be  recollected,  that,  to 
whatever  extent  any  specific  power  may  be  carried, 
the  right  of  jurisdiction  goes  with  it,  pursuing  it 
through  all  its  incidents.  The  very  important  agency 
which  this  grant  has  in  carrying  into  effect  every 
other  grant,  is  a  strong  argument  in  favor  of  the  con 
struction  contended  for.  All  the  other  grants  are 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  387 

limited  by  the  nature  of  the  offices  which  they  have 
severally  to  perform,  each  conveying  a  power  to -do 
a  certain  thing,  and  that  only,  whereas  this  is  coexten 
sive  with  the  great  scheme  of  the  government  itself. 
It  is  the  lever  which  raises  and  puts  the  whole  ma 
chinery  in  motion,  and  continues  the  movement. 
Should  either  of  the  other  grants  fail,  in  consequence 
of  any  condition  or  limitation  attached  to  it,  or  mis 
construction  of  its  powers,  much  injury  might  follow, 
but  still  it  would  be  the  failure  of  one  branch  of  power, 
of  one  item  in  the  system  only.  All  the  others  might 
move  on.  But  should  the  right  to  raise  and  appro 
priate  the  public  money  be  improperly  restricted,  the 
whole  system  might  be  sensibly  affected,  if  not  dis 
organized.  Each  of  the  other  grants  is  limited  by  the 
nature  of  the  grant  itself.  This,  by  the  nature  of  the 
government  only.  Hence  it  became  necessary  that, 
like  the  power  to  declare  war,  this  power  should  be 
commensurate  with  the  great  scheme  of  the  govern 
ment,  and  with  all  its  purposes. 

"If,  then,  the  right  to  raise  and  appropriate  the 
public  money  is  not  restricted  to  the  expenditures 
under  the  other  specific  grants,  according  to  a  strict 
construction  of  their  powers  respectively,  is  there  no 
limitation  to  it]  Have  Congress  a  right  to  raise  and 
appropriate  the  public  money  to  any  and  to  every 
purpose,  according  to  their  will  and  pleasure  1  They 
certainly  have  not.  The  government  of  the  United 
States  is  a  limited  government,  instituted  for  great 
national  purposes,  and  for  those  only.  Other  interests 
17 


383 

are  committed  to  the  states,  whose  duty  it  is  to  pro 
vide  for  them.  Each  government  should  look  to  the 
great  and  essential  purposes  for  which  it  was  insti 
tuted,  and  confine  itself  to  those  purposes.  A  state 
government  will  rarely,  if  ever,  apply  money  to 
national  purposes,  without  making  it  a  charge  to  the 
nation.  The  people  of  the  state  would  not  permit  it. 
Nor  will  Congress  be  apt  to  apply  money  in  aid  of 
the  state  administrations,  for  purposes  strictly  local, 
in  which  the  nation  at  large  has  no  interest,  although 
the  states  should  desire  it.  The  people  of  the  other 
states  would  condemn  it.  They  would  declare  that 
Congress  had  no  right  to  tax  them  for  such  a  purpose. 
and  dismiss,  at  the  next  election,  such  of  their  repre 
sentatives  as  had  voted  for  the  measure,  especially  if 
it  should  be  severely  felt.  I  do  not  think  that  in  offices 
of  this  kind  there  is  much  danger  of  the  two  govern 
ments  mistaking  their  interests  or  their  duties.  I 
rather  expect  that  they  would  soon  have  a  clear  and 
distinct  understanding  of  them,  and  move  on  in  great 
harmony. 

"Good  roads  and  canals  will  promote  many  very 
important  national  purposes.  They  will  facilitate  the 
operations  of  war,  the  movements  of  troops,  the  trans 
portation  of  cannon,  of  provisions,  and  every  warlike 
store,  much  to  our  advantage  and  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  enemy  in  time  of  war.  Good  roads  will  facili 
tate  the  transportation  of  the  mail,  and  thereby  pro 
mote  the  purposes  of  commerce  and  political  intelli 
gence  among  the  people.  They  will,  by  being  properly 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  389 

directed  to  these  objects,  enhance  the  value  of  our 
vacant  lands,  a  treasure  of  vast  resource  to  the  nation. 
To  the  appropriation  of  the  public  money  to  improve 
ments,  having  these  objects  in  view,  and  carried  to  a 
certain  extent,  I  do  not  see  any  well-founded  constitu 
tional  objection. 

"In  regard  to  our  foreign  concerns,  provided  they 
are  managed  with  integrity  and  ability,  great  liberality 
is  allowable  in  the  application  of  the  public  money. 
In  the  management  of  these  concerns,  no  state  inter 
ests  can  be  affected,  no  state  rights  violated.  The 
complete  and  exclusive  control  over  them  is  vested  in 
Congress.  The  power  to  form  treaties  of  alliance 
and  commerce  with  foreign  powers ;  to  regulate  by 
law  our  commerce  with  them ;  to  determine  on  peace 
or  war ;  to  raise  armies  and  a  navy;  to  call  forth  the 
militia  and  direct  their  operations  ;  belongs  to  the 
general  government.  These  great  powers,  embracing 
the  whole  scope  of  our  foreign  relations,  being  granted, 
on  what  principle  can  it  be  said  that  the  minor  are 
withheld!  Are  not  the  latter  clearly  and  evidently 
comprised  in  the  former?  Nations  are  sometimes 
called  upon  to  perform  to  each  other  acts  of  humanity 
and  kindness,  of  which  we  see  so  many  illustrious 
examples  between  individuals  in  private  life.  Great 
calamities  make  appeals  to  the  benevolence  of  man 
kind,  which  ought  not  to  be  resisted.  Good  offices  in 
such  emergencies  exalt  the  character  of  the  party 
rendering  them.  By  exciting  grateful  feelings,  they 
soften  the  intercourse  between  nations,  and  tend  to 


390 

prevent  war.  Surely,  if  the  United  States  have  a 
right  to  make  war,  they  have  a  right  to  prevent  it. 
How  was  it  possible  to  grant  to  Congress  a  power  for 
such  minor  purposes,  other  than  in  general  terms, 
comprising  it  within  the  scope  and  policy  of  that 
which  conveyed  it  for  the  greater  ? 

"The  right  of  appropriation  is  nothing  more  than  a 
right  to  apply  the  public  money  to  this  or  that  pur 
pose.  It  has  no  incidental  power,  nor  does  it  draw 
after  it  any  consequences  of  that  kind.  All  that  Con 
gress  could  do  under  it,  in  the  case  of  internal  im 
provements,  would  be  to  appropriate  the  money  neces 
sary  to  make  them.  For  every  act  requiring  legisla 
tive  sanction  or  support  the  state  authority  must  be 
relied  on.  The  condemnation  of  the  land,  if  the  pro 
prietors  should  refuse  to  sell  it,  the  establishment  of 
turnpikes  and  tolls,  and  the  protection  of  the  work 
when  finished,  must  be  done  by  the  state.  To  these 
purposes  the  powers  of  the  general  government  are 
believed  to  be  utterly  incompetent. 

"To  the  objection  that  the  United  States  have  no 
power,  in  any  instance,  which  is  not  complete  to  all 
the  purposes  to  which  it  may  be  made  instrumental, 
and,  in  consequence,  that  they  have  no  right  to  appro 
priate  any  portion  of  the  public  money  to  internal 
improvements,  because  they  have  not  the  right  of 
sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  over  them  when  made,  a 
full  answer  has,  it  is  presumed,  been  already  given. 
It  may,  however,  be  proper  to  add,  that,  if  this  objec 
tion  was  well  founded,  it  would  not  be  confined  to  the 


MONROE  S     ADMINISTRATION.  391 

simple  case  of  internal  improvements,  but  would  apply 
to  others  of  high  importance.  Congress  have  a  right 
to  regulate  commerce.  To  give  effect  to  this  power, 
it  becomes  necessary  to  establish  custom-houses  in 
every  state  along  the  coast,  and  in  many  parts  of  the 
interior.  The  vast  amount  of  goods  imported,  and 
the  duties  to  be  performed  to  accommodate  the  mer 
chants  and  secure  the  revenue,  make  it  necessary 
that  spacious  buildings  should  be  erected,  especially 
in  the  great  towns,  for  their  reception.  This,  it  is 
manifest,  could  best  be  performed  under  the  direction 
of  the  general  government.  Have  Congress  the  right 
to  seize  the  property  of  individuals,  if  they  should 
refuse  to  sell  it,  in  quarters  best  adapted  to  the  pur 
pose,  to  have  it  valued,  and  to  take  it  at  the  valuation  1 
Have  they  a  right  to  exercise  jurisdiction  within  those 
buildings  1  Neither  of  these  claims  has  ever  been  set 
up,  nor  couid  it,  as  is  presumed,  be  sustained.  They 
have  invariably  either  rented  houses,  where  such  as 
were  suitable  could  be  obtained,  or,  where  they  could 
not,  purchased  the  ground  of  individuals,  erected  the 
buildings,  arid  held  them  under  the  laws  of  the  state. 
Under  the  power  to  establish  postoffices  and  post- 
roads,  houses  are  also  requisite  for  the  reception  of 
the  mails  and  the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the 
several  offices.  These  have  always  been  rented  or 
purchased,  and  held  under  the  laws  of  the  state,  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  they  had  been  taken  by  a  citizen. 
The  United  States  have  a  right  to  establish  tribunals 
inferior  to  the  supreme  court,  and  such  have  been 


392 

established  in  every  state  of  the  Union.  It  is  believed 
that  the  houses  for  these  inferior  courts  have  invaria 
bly  been  rented.  No  right  of  jurisdiction  in  them  has 
ever  been  claimed,  nor  other  right  than  that  of  privi 
lege,  and  that  only  while  the  court  was  in  session.  A 
still  stronger  case  may  be  urged.  Should  Congress 
be  compelled,  by  invasion  or  other  cause,  to  remove 
the  government  to  some  town  within  one  of  the  states, 
would  they  have  a  right  of  jurisdiction  over  such 
town,  or  hold  even  the  house  in  which  they  held  their 
session,  under  other  authority  than  the  laws  of  such 
state  1  It  is  believed  that  they  would  not.  If  they 
have  a  right  to  appropriate  money  for  any  of  these 
purposes,  to  be  laid  out  under  the  protection  of  the 
laws  of  the  state,  surely  they  have  an  equal  right  to 
do  it  for  the  purposes  of  internal  improvements. 

"  It  is  believed  that  there  is  not  a  corporation  in  the 
Union  which  does  not  exercise  great  discretion  in  the 
application  of  the  money  raised  by  it,  to  the  purposes 
of  its  institution.  It  would  be  strange  if  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  which  was  instituted  for 
such  important  purposes,  and  endowed  with  such  ex 
tensive  powers,  should  not  be  allowed  at  least  equal 
discretion  and  authority.  The  evil  to  be  particularly 
avoided  is,  the  violation  of  state  rights  ;  shunning  that, 
it  seems  to  be  reasonable  and  proper  that  the  powers 
of  Congress  should  be  so  construed  as  that  the  gene 
ral  government,  in  its  intercourse  with  other  nations, 
and  in  our  internal  concerns,  should  be  able  to  adopt 
all  such  measures,  lying  within  the  fair  scope,  and 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  393 

intended  to  facilitate  the  direct  objects  of  its  powers, 
as  the  public  welfare  may  require,  and  a  sound  and 
provident  policy  dictate. 

"  The  measures  of  Congress  have  been  in  strict 
accord  with  the  view  taken  of  the  right  of  appropria 
tion,  both  as  to  its  extent  and  limitation,  as  will  be 
shown  by  a  reference  to  the  laws,  commencing  at  a 
very  early  period.  Many  roads  have  been  opened, 
of  which  the  following  are  the  principal  :  The  first, 
from  Cumberland,  at  the  head  waters  of  the  Potomac, 
in  the  state  of  Maryland,  through  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  to  the  state  of  Ohio,  March  29,  1806.  See 
vol.  4th,  page  13,  of  the  late  edition  of  the  laws.  The 
second,  from  the  frontiers  of  Georgia,  on  the  route 
from  Athens  to  New  Orleans,  to  its  intersection  with 
the  31st  degree  of  north  latitude  :  April  31st,  1806, 
page  58.  The  third,  from  Mississippi,  at  a  point  and 
by  a  route  described,  to  the  Ohio  :  same  act.  The 
fourth,  from  Nashville,  in  Tennessee,  to  Natchez  : 
same  act.  The  fifth,  from  the  31st  degree  of  north 
latitude,  on  the  route  from  Athens  to  New  Orleans, 
under  such  regulations  as  might  be  agreed  on  between 
the  executive  and  the  Spanish  government :  March 
3d,  1807,  page  117.  The  sixth,  from  the  foot  of  the 
rapids  of  the  river  Miami,  of  Lake  Erie,  to  the  western 
line  of  the  Connecticut  reserve  :  December  12th,  1811, 
page  364.  The  seventh,  from  the  Lower  Sandusky 
to  the  boundary  line  established  by  the  treaty  of 
Greenville  :  same  act.  The  eighth,  from  a  point 
where  the  United  States  road,  leading  from  Vincennes 


394 

to  the  Indian  boundary  line,  established  by  the  treaty 
of  Greenville,  strikes  the  said  line,  to  the  North  Bend, 
in  the  state  of  Ohio  :  January  8th,  1812,  page  367. 
The  ninth,  for  repairing,  and  keeping  in  repair,  the 
road  between  Columbia,  on  Duck  river,  in  Tennessee, 
and  Madisonville,  in  Louisiana  ;  and  also  the  road 
between  Fort  Hawkins,  in  Georgia,  and  Fort  Stod- 
dard :  April  27th,  1816,  page  104  of  the  acts  of  that 
year.  The  tenth,  from  the  Shawneetown,  on  the 
Ohio  river,  to  the  Sabine,  and  to  Kaskaskias,  in  Illi 
nois  :  April  27th,  1816,  page  112.  The  eleventh,  from 
Reynoldsburg,  on  Tennessee  river,  in  the  state  of 
Tennessee,  through  the  Chickasaw  nation,  to  intersect 
the  Natchez  road  near  the  Chickasaw  old  town  : 
March  3d,  1817,  page  252.  The  twelfth  :  by  this  act, 
authority  was  given  to  the  president  to  appoint  three 
commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  coun 
try,  and  laying  out  a  road  from  the  termination  of  the 
Cumberland  road,  at  Wheeling,  on  the  Ohio,  through 
the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  to  a  point  to 
be  chosen  by  them,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi, 
between  St.  Louis  and  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river, 
and  to  report  an  accurate  plan  of  the  said  road,  with 
an  estimate  of  the  expense  of  making  it.  It  is,  how 
ever,  declared  by  the  act,  that  nothing  was  thereby 
intended  to  imply  an  obligation,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  to  make,  or  defray  the  expense  of 
making  the  said  road,  or  any  part  thereof. 

"In  the  late  war,   two  other  roads  were  made  by 
the  troops,  for  military  purposes ;  one  from  the  Upj  %r 


'•     J 

MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  395 


Sandusky,  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  thr^C^The  Black 
Swamp,  toward  Detroit,  and  another  from  Plattsburg, 
on  Lake  Champlain,  through  the  Chatougee  woods, 
toward  Sackett's  harbor,  which  have  since  been  re 
paired  and  improved  by  the  troops.  Of  these  latter 
there  is  no  notice  in  the  laws.  The  extra  pay  to  the 
soldiers  for  repairing  and  improving  those  roads,  was 
advanced,  in  the  first  instance,  from  the  appropriation 
to  the  quartermaster's  department,  and  afterward 
provided  for  by  a  specific  appropriation  by  Congress. 
The  necessity  of  keeping  those  roads  open  and  in 
good  repair,  being,  on  the  frontier,  to  facilitate  a  com 
munication  between  our  posts,  is  apparent. 

"All  of  these  roads,  except  the  first,  were  formed 
merely  by  cutting  down  the  trees,  and  throwing  logs 
across  so  as  to  make  causeways  over  such  parts  as 
were  otherwise  impassable.  The  execution  was  of 
the  coarsest  kind.  The  Cumberland  road  is  the  only 
regular  work  which  has  been  undertaken  by  the  gene 
ral  government,  or  which  could  give  rise  to  any  ques 
tion  between  the  two  governments  respecting  its 
powers.  It  is  a  great  work,  over  the  highest  moun 
tains  in  our  Union,  connecting,  from  the  seat  of  gov 
ernment,  the  eastern  with  the  western  waters,  and 
more  intimately  the  Atlantic  with  the  western  states, 
in  the  formation  of  which  1,800,000  dollars  have  been 
expended.  The  measures  pursued  in  this  case  require 
to  be  particularly  noticed,  as  fixing  the  opinion  of  the 
parties,  and  particularly  of  Congress,  on  the  important 

question  of  the  right.     Passing   through    Maryland, 
17* 


396  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  it  was  thought  necessary 
and  proper  to  bring  the  subject  before  their  respective 
legislatures,  to  obtain  their  sanction,  which  was  grant 
ed  by  each  state,  by  a  legislative  act,  approving  the 
route  and  providing  for  the  purchase  and  condemna 
tion  of  the  land.  This  road  was  founded  on  an  article 
of  compact  between  the  United  States  and  the  state 
of  Ohio,  under  which  that  state  came  into  the  Union, 
and  by  which  the  expense  attending  it  was  to  be  de 
frayed  by  the  application  of  a  certain  portion  of  the 
money  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  within 
that  state.  In  this  instance,  which  is  by  far  the 
strongest,  in  respect  to  the  expense,  extent,  and  nature 
of  the  work  done,  the  United  States  have  exercised 
no  act  of  jurisdiction  or  sovereignty  within  either  of 
the  states,  by  taking  the  land  from  the  proprietors  by 
force  ;  by  passing  acts  for  the  protection  of  the  road ; 
or  to  raise  a  revenue  from  it  by  the  establishment  of 
turnpikes  and  tolls  ;  or  any  other  act  founded  on  the 
principle  of  jurisdiction  or  right.  Whatever  they 
have  done  has,  on  the  contrary,  been  founded  on  the 
opposite  principle ;  on  the  voluntary  and  unqualified 
admission  that  the  sovereignty  belonged  to  the  state, 
and  not  to  the  United  States ;  and  that  they  could 
perform  no  act  which  should  tend  to  weaken  the 
power  of  the  state,  or  to  assume  any  to  themselves. 
All  that  they  have  done  has  been  to  appropriate  the 
public  money  to  the  construction  of  this  road,  and  to 
cause  it  to  be  constructed  ;  for  I  presume  that  no  dis 
tinction  can  be  taken  between  the  appropriation  of 


NON-ROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  397 

money  raised  by  the  sale  of  the  public  lands,  and  of 
that  which  arises  from  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and 
excises  ;  nor  can  I  believe  that  the  power  to  appro 
priate  derives  any  sanction  from  a  provision  to  that 
effect  having  be*en  made  by  an  article  of  compact 
between  the  United  States  and  the  people  of  the  then 
territory  of  Ohio.  This  point  may,  however,  be 
placed  in  a  clearer  light  by  a  more  particular  notice 
of  the  article  itself. 

"By  an  act,  of  April  30.  1802,  entitled,  "  An  act  to 
enable  the  people  of  the  eastern  division  of  the  terri 
tory  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio  to  form  a  constitution 
and  state  government,  and  for  the  admission  of  such 
state  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
original  states,  and  for  other  purposes,"  after  de 
scribing  the  limits  of  the  proposed  new  state,  and 
authorizing  the  people  thereof  to  elect  a  convention  to 
form  a  constitution,  the  three  following  propositions 
were  made  to  the  convention,  to  be  obligatory  on  the 
United  States,  if  accepted  by  it :  first,  that  section 
number  sixteen  of  every  township,  or,  where  such 
section  had  been  sold,  other  lands  equivalent  thereto, 
should  be  granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  such  township 
for  the  use  of  free  schools.  Second,  that  the  six 
miles  reservation,  including  the  salt  springs  commonly 
called  the  Sciota  springs  ;  the  salt  springs  near  the 
Muskingum  river,  and  in  the  military  tract,  with  the 
sections  which  include  the  same,  should  be  granted  to 
the  said  state,  for  the  use  of  the  people  thereof,  under 
such  regulations  as  the  legislature  of  the  state  should 


398  MONROE'S   ADMINISTRATION. 

prescribe  :  provided,  that  it  should  never  sell  or  lease 
the  same  for  more  than  ten  years.  Third,  that  one 
twentieth  part  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands 
lying  within  the  said  state,  which  might  be  sold  by 
Congress,  from  and  after  the  30th  June  ensuing,  should 
be  applied  to  the  laying  out  and  making  public  roads 
from  the  navigable  waters  emptying  into  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Ohio,  and  through  the  state  of  Ohio  ;  such  roads 
to  be  laid  out  under  the  authority  of  Congress,  with 
the  consent  of  the  several  states  through  which  they 
should  pass. 

"These  three  propositions  were  made  on  the  con 
dition  that  the  convention  of  the  state  should  provide, 
by  an  ordinance,  irrevocable  without  the  consent  of 
the  United  States,  that  every  tract  of  land  sold  by 
Congress,  after  the  30th  of  June  ensuing,  should  re 
main,  for  the  term  of  five  years  after  sale,  exempt 
from  every  species  of  tax  whatsoever. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  ordinance  of  the  23d 
of  April,  1784,  or  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  April 
30th,  1802,  which  are  founded  on  it,  without  being 
profoundly  impressed  with  the  enlightened  and  mag 
nanimous  policy  which  dictated  them.  Anticipating 
that  the  new  states  would  be  settled  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  original  states  and  their  offspring,  no  narrow 
or  contracted  jealousy  was  entertained  of  their  admis 
sion  into  the  Union,  in  equal  participation  in  the 
national  sovereignty  with  the  original  states.  It  was 
foreseen  at  the  early  period  at  which  that  ordinance 
passed,  that  the  expansion  of  our  Union  to  the  lakes 


399 

and  to  the  Mississippi  and  all  its  waters,  would  not 
only  make  us  a  greater  power,  but  cement  the  Union 
itself.  These  three  propositions  were  well  calculated 
to  promote  these  great  results.  A  grant  of  land  to 
each  township,  for  free  schools,  and  of  the  salt  springs 
to  the  state,  which  were  within  its  limits,  for  the  use 
of  its  citizens,  with  five  per  cent,  of  the  money  to  be 
raised  from  the  sale  of  lands  within  the  state,  for  the 
construction  of  roads  between  the  original  states  and 
the  new  state,  and  of  other  roads  within  the  state, 
indicated  a  spirit  not  to  be  mistaken,  nor  could  it  fail 
to  produce  a  corresponding  effect  in  the  bosoms  of 
those  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  For  these  consider 
ations  the  sole  return  required  of  the  convention  was, 
that  the  new  state  should  not  tax  the  public  lands 
which  might  be  sold  by  the  United  States  within  it, 
for  the  term  of  five  years  after  they  should  be  sold. 
As  the  value  of  these  lands  would  be  enhanced  by 
this  exemption  from  taxes  for  that  term,  and  from 
which  the  new  state  would  derive  its  proportionable 
benefit,  and  as  it  would  also  promote  the  rapid  sale  of 
those  lands,  and  with  it  the  augmentation  of  its  own 
population,  it  can  not  be  doubted,  had  this  exemption 
been  suggested,  unaccompanied  by  any  propositions 
of  particular  advantage,  that  the  convention  would,  in 
consideration  of  the  relation  which  had  before  existed 
between  the  parties,  and  was  about  to  be  so  much 
improved,  most  willingly  have  acceded  to  it,  and  with 
out  regarding  it  as  an  onerous  condition. 

"  Since,   then,  it   appears   that  the   whole   of  the 


400 

money  to  be  employed  in  making  this  road,  was  to  be 
raised  from  the  sale  of  the  public  lands,  and  which 
would  still  belong  to  the  United  States ;  although  no 
mention  had  been  made  of  them  in  the  compact,  it 
follows  that  the  application  of  the  money  to  that  pur 
pose  stands  upon  the  same  grounds  as  if  such  compact 
had  not  been  made,  and,  in  consequence,  that  the 
example  in  favor  of  the  right  of  appropriation  is  in  no 
manner  affected  by  it. 

"The  same  rule  of  construction  of  the  right  of  ap 
propriation  has  been  observed,  and  the  same  liberal 
policy  pursued,  toward  the  other  new  states,  with 
certain  modifications  adapted  to  the  situation  of  each, 
which  were  adopted  with  the  state  of  Ohio.  As, 
however,  the  reasoning  which  is  applicable  to  the 
compact  with  Ohio,  in  relation  to  the  right  of  appro 
priation,  in  which  light  only  I  have  adverted  to  it,  is 
equally  applicable  to  the  several  compacts  with  the 
other  new  states,  I  deem  it  unnecessary  to  take  a 
particular  notice  of  them. 

"  It  is  proper  to  observe  that  the  money  which  was 
employed  in  the  construction  of  all  the  other  roads, 
was  taken  directly  from  the  treasury.  This  fact 
affords  an  additional  proof,  that,  in  the  contemplation 
of  Congress,  no  difference  existed  in  the  application 
of  money  to  those  roads,  between  that  which  was 
raised  by  the  sale  of  lands,  and  that  which  was  de 
rived  from  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises. 

"So  far,  I  have  confined  my  remarks  to  the  acts  of 
Congress  respecting  the  right  of  appropriation  to  such 


MONROE  S    ADMINISTRATION.  401 

measures  only  as  operate  internally  and  affect  the 
territory  of  the  individual  states.  In  adverting  to 
those  which  operate  externally  and  relate  to  foreign 
powers,  I  find  only  two  which  appear  to  merit  par 
ticular  attention.  These  were  gratuitous  grants  of 
money  for  the  relief  of  foreigners  in  distress  ;  the  first 
in  1794,  to  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Domingo,  who  sought 
an  asylum  on  our  coast  from  the  convulsions  and 
calamities  of  the  island  ;  the  second  in  1812,  to  the 
people  of  Caraccas,  reduced  to  misery  by  an  earth 
quake.  The  considerations  which  were  applicable  to 
these  grants  have  already  been  noticed  and  need  not 
be  repeated. 

"In  this  examination  of  the  right  of  appropriation, 
I  thought  it  proper  to  present  to  view,  also,  the  prac 
tice  of  the  government  under  it,  and  to  explore  the 
ground  on  which  each  example  rested,  that  the  precise 
nature  and  extent  of  the  construction  thereby  given 
of  the  right  might  be  clearly  understood.  The  right 
to  raise  money  would  have  given,  as  is  presumed,  the 
right  to  use  it,  although  nothing  had  been  said  to  that 
effect  in  the  constitution.  And  where  the  right  to 
raise  it  is  granted,  without  special  limitation,  we  must 
look  for  such  limitation  to  other  causes.  Our  atten 
tion  is  first  drawn  to  the  right  to  appropriate,  and  not 
finding  it  there,  we  must  then  look  to  the  general 
powers  of  the  government,  as  designated  by  the  spe 
cific  grants,  and  to  the  purposes  contemplated  by 
them,  allowing  to  this  the  right  to  raise  money,  the 
first  and  most  important  of  the  enumerated  powers,  a 


402 

scope  which  will  be  competent  to  those  purposes 
The  practice  of  the  government,  as  illustrated  by 
numerous  and  strong  examples  directly  applicable, 
ought  surely  to  have  great  weight  in  fixing  the  con 
struction  of  each  grant.  It  ought,  I  presume,  to  settle 
it,  especially  where  it  is  acquiesced  in  by  the  nation, 
and  produces  a  manifest  and  positive  good.  A  practi 
cal  construction,  thus  supported,  shows  that  it  has 
reason  on  its  side,  and  is  called  for  by  the  interests  of 
the  Union.  Hence,  too,  the  presumption  that  it  will 
be  persevered  in.  It  will,  surely,  be  better  to  admit 
that  the  construction  given  by  these  examples  has 
been  just  and  proper,  than  to  deny  that  construction 
and  still  to  practise  on  it — to  say  one  thing  and  to  do 
another. 

"  Wherein  consists  the  danger  of  giving  a  liberal 
construction  to  the  right  of  Congress  to  raise  and  ap 
propriate  the  public  money?  It  has  been  shown  that 
its  obvious  effect  is  to  secure  the  rights  of  the  states 
from  encroachment,  and  greater  harmony  in  the  politi 
cal  movement  between  the  two  governments,  while  it 
enlarges,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  the  most  harmless 
way,  the  useful  agency  of  the  general  government  for 
all  the  purposes  of  its  institution.  Is  not  the  responsi 
bility  of  the  representative  to  his  constituent,  in  every 
branch  of  the  general  government,  equally  strong,  and 
as  sensibly  felt,  as  in  the  state  governments  ?  and  is 
not  the  security  against  abuse  as  effectual  in  the  one 
as  in  the  other  government!  The  history  of  the  gen 
eral  government,  in  all  its  measures,  fully  demonstrates 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  403 

that  Congress  will  never  venture  to  impose  unncessa- 
ry  burdens  on  the  people,  or  any  that  can  be  avoided. 
Duties  and  imposts  have  always  been  light,  not  greater, 
perhaps,  than  would  have  been  imposed  for  the  en 
couragement  of  our  manufactures,  had  there  been  no 
occasion  for  the  revenue  arising  from  them  ;  and  taxes 
and  excises,  have  never  been  laid,  except  in  cases  of 
necessity,  and  repealed  as  soon  as  the  necessity  ceased. 
Under  this  mild  process,  and  the  sale  of  some  hun 
dreds  of  millions  of  acres  of  good  land,  the  govern 
ment  will  be  possessed  of  money,  which  may  be 
applied  with  great  advantage  to  national  purposes. 
Within  the  states  only  will  it  be  applied,  and,  of  course, 
for  their  benefit,  it  not  being  presumable  that  such 
appeals  as  were  made  to  the  benevolence  of  the  coun 
try  in  the  instances  of  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Domingo 
and  Caraccas,  will  often  occur.  How,  then,  shall  this 
revenue  be  applied  1  Should  it  be  idle  in  the  treasury  1 
That  our  resources  will  be  equal  to  such  useful  pur 
poses,  I  have  no  doubt,  especially  if,  by  completing 
our  fortifications,  and  raising  and  maintaining  our 
navy  at  the  point  provided  for,  immediately  after  the 
war,  we  sustain  our  present  altitude,  and  preserve,  by 
means  thereof,  for  any  length  of  time,  the  peace  of  the 
Union. 

"When  we  hear  charges  raised  against  other  gov 
ernments  of  breaches  of  their  constitutions,  or  rather 
of  their  charters,  we  always  anticipate  the  most 
serious  consequences  :  communities  deprived  of  privi 
leges  which  they  have  long  enjoyed,  or  individuals 


404 

oppressed  and  punished,  in  violation  of  the  ordinary 
forms  and  guards  of  trial  to  which  they  were  accus 
tomed  and  entitled.  How  different  is  the  situation  of 
the  United  States  !  Nor  can  anything  mark  more 
strongly  the  great  characteristics  of  that  difference, 
than  the  grounds  on  which  like  charges  are  raised 
against  this  government.  It  is  not  alleged  that  any 
portion  of  the  community,  or  any  individual,  has  been 
oppressed,  or  that  money  has  been  raised  under  a 
doubtful  title.  The  principal  charges  are,  that  a  work 
of  great  utility  to  the  Union,  and  affecting,  immediate 
ly,  and  with  like  advantage,  many  of  the  states,  has 
been  constructed ;  that  pensions  to  the  surviving 
patriots  of  our  revolution,  to  patriots  who  fought  the 
battles  and  promoted  the  independence  of  their  coun 
try,  have  been  granted,  by  money,  too,  raised  not  only 
without  oppression,  but  almost  without  being  felt,  and 
under  an  acknowledged  constitutional  power. 

"From  this  view  of  the  right  to  appropriate,  and  of 
the  practice  under  it,  I  think  that  I  am  authorized  to 
conclude,  that  the  right  to  make  internal  improve 
ments  has  not  been  granted  by  the  power  "to  pay  the 
debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  gene 
ral  welfare,"  included  in  the  first  of  the  enumerated 
powers ;  that  that  grant  conveys  nothing  more  than  a 
right  to  appropriate  the  public  money,  and  stands  on 
the  same  ground  with  the  right  to  lay  and  collect 
taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  conveyed  by  the 
first  branch  of  that  power  ;  that  the  government  itself 
being  limited,  both  branches  of  the  power  to  raise  and 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  405 

appropriate  the  publio  moneys  are  also  limited;  the 
extent  of  the  government,  as  designated  by  the  spe 
cific  grants,  marking  the  extent  of  the  power  in  both 
branches,  extending,  however,  to  every  object  em 
braced  by  the  fair  scope  of  those  grants,  and  not  con 
fined  to  a  strict  construction  of  their  respective  powers, 
it  being  safer  to  aid  the  purposes  of  those  grants  by 
the  appropriation  of  money,  than  to  extend,  by  a  forced 
construction,  the  grant  itself.  That,  although  the 
right  to  appropriate  the  public  money  to  such  improve 
ments  affords  a  resource  indispensably  necessary  to 
such  a  scheme,  it  is,  nevertheless,  deficient  as  a  power 
in  the  great  characteristics  on  which  its  execution 
depends. 

"  The  substance  of  what  has  been  urged  on  this 
subject  may  be  expressed  in  a  few  words.  My  idea 
is,  that  Congress  have  an  unlimited  power  to  raise 
money,  and  that  in  its  appropriation,  they  have  a  dis 
cretionary  power,  restricted  only  by  the  duty  to 
appropriate  it  to  purposes  of  common  defence,  and  of 
general,  not  local,  national,  not  state,  benefit. 

"  I  will  now  proceed  to  the  fifth  source  from  which 
the  power  is  said  to  be  derived,  viz.  The  power  to 
make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  execution  all  the  powers  vested  by  the 
constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof.  This  is  the 
17th  and  last  of  the  enumerated  powers  granted  to 
Congress. 

"I  have  always  considered  this  power  as  having 


40(3  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

been  granted  on  a  principle  of  greater  caution  to 
secure  the  complete  execution  of  all  the  powers  which 
had  been  vested  in  the  general  government.  It  con 
tains  no  distinct  and  specfic  power,  as  every  other 
grant  does,  such  as  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  to  declare 
war,  to  regulate  commerce,  and  the  like.  Looking  to 
the  whole  scheme  of  the  general  government,  it  gives 
to  Congress  authority  to  make  all  laws  which  should 
be  deemed  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  all  its 
powers  into  effect.  My  impression  has  been  invaria 
bly,  that  this  power  would  have  existed,  substantially, 
if  this  grant  had  not  been  made  ;  for  why  is  any  power 
granted,  unless  it  be  to  be  executed  when  required, 
and  how  can  it  be  executed  under  our  government, 
unless  it  be  by  laws  necessary  and  proper  for  the 
purpose,  that  is,  well  adapted  to  the  end  ]  It  is  a 
principle  universally  admitted,  that  a  grant  of  a  power 
conveys,  as  a  necessary  consequence  or  incident  to  it, 
the  means  of  carrying  it  into  effect,  by  a  fair  con 
struction  of  its  import.  In  the  formation,  however, 
of  a  constitution  which  was  to  act  directly  upon  the 
people,  and  be  paramount,  to  the  extent  of  its  powers, 
to  the  constitutions  of  the  states,  it  was  wise  in  its 
framers  to  leave  nothing  to  implication  which  might 
be  reduced  to  certainty.  It  is  known  that  all  power 
which  rests  solely  on  that  ground  has  been  systemati 
cally  and  zealously  opposed,  under  all  governments 
with  which  we  have  any  acquaintance ;  and  it  was 
reasonable  to  presume  that,  under  our  system,  where 
there  was  a  division  of  the  sovereignty  between  two 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  407 

independent  governments,  the  measures  of  the  general 
government  would  excite  equal  jealousy,  and  produce 
an  opposition  not  less  systematic,  though,  perhaps,  less 
violent.  Hence  the  policy,  by  the  framers  of  our 
government,  of  securing,  by  a  fundamental  declara 
tion  in  the  constitution,  a  principle  which,  in  all  other 
governments,  had  been  left  to  implication  only.  The 
terms  necessary  and  proper  secure  to  the  powers  of 
all  the  grants,  to  which  the  authority  given  in  this  is 
applicable,  a  fair  and  sound  construction,  which  is 
equally  binding,  as  a  rule,  on  both  governments,  and 
on  all  their  departments. 

"  In  examining  the  right  of  the  general  government 
to  adopt  and  execute,  under  this  grant,  a  system  of 
internal  improvement,  the  sole  question  to  be  decided 
is,  whether  the  power  has  been  granted  under  any  of 
the  other  grants.  If  it  has,  this  power  is  applicable  to 
it,  to  the  extent  stated.  If  it  has  not,  it  does  not  exist 
at  all,  for  it  has  not  been  hereby  granted.  I  have 
already  examined  all  the  other  grants  (one  only  ex- 
cepted,  which  will  next  claim  attention),  and  shown, 
as  I  presume,  on  the  most  liberal  construction  of  their 
powers,  that  the  right  has  not  been  granted  by  any  of 
them.  Hence  it  follows,  that,  in  regard  to  them,  it 
has  not  been  granted  by  this. 

"I  come  now  to  the  last  source  from  which  this 
power  is  said  to  be  derived,  viz.,  the  power  to  dispose 
of,  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respect 
ing,  the  territory  or  other  property  of  the  United 
States,  which  is  contained  in  the  second  clause  of  the 
third  section  of  the  fourth  article  of  the  constitution. 


408  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

"To  form  a  just  opinion  of  the  nature  and  extent 
of  this  power,  it  will  be  necessary  to  bring  into  view 
the  provisions  contained  in  the  first  clause  of  the  sec 
tion  of  the  article  referred  to,  which  makes  an  essen 
tial  part  of  the  policy  in  question.  By  this  it  is 
declared,  that  new  states  shall  be  admitted  into  the 
Union,  but  that  no  new  state  shall  be  formed,  or 
erected,  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  state  : 
nor  any  state  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or 
more  states,  or  parts  of  states,  without  the  consent  of 
the  legislatures  of  the  states  concerned,  as  well  as  of 
the  United  States. 

"If  we  recur  to  the  condition  of  our  country,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  revolution,  we  shall  see  the 
origin  and  cause  of  these  provisions.  By  the  charters 
of  the  several  colonies,  limits  by  latitude  and  other 
descriptions  were  assigned  to  each.  In  commencing 
the  revolution,  the  colonies,  as  has  already  been  ob 
served,  claimed  by  those  limits,  although  their  popula 
tion  extended,  in  many  instances,  to  a  small  portion 
of  the  territory  lying  within  them.  It  was  contended 
by  some  of  the  states,  after  the  declaration  of  indepen 
dence,  that  the  vacant  lands,  lying  within  any  of  the 
states,  should  become  the  property  of  the  Union,  as, 
by  a  common  exertion,  they  would  be  acquired.  This 
claim  was  resisted  by  the  others,  on  the  principle  that 
all  the  states  entered  into  the  contest  in  the  full  extent 
of  their  chartered  rights,  and  that  they  ought  to  have 
the  full  benefit  of  those  rights  in  the  event  of  success. 
Happily,  this  controversy  was  settled,  as  all  inter- 


.MONROE'S    ADMINISTRATION.  409 

fering  claims  and  pretensions,  between  the  members 
of  our  Union,  and  between  the  general  government, 
and  any  of  these  members,  have  been,  in  the  most 
amicable  manner,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties. 
On  the  recommendation  of  Congress,  the  individual 
states,  having  such  territory  within  their  chartered 
limits,  ceded  large  portions  thereof  to  the  United 
States,  on  condition  that  it  should  be  laid  off  into  dis 
tricts  of  proper  dimensions,  the  lands  to  be  sold  for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States ;  and  that  the  districts  be 
admitted  into  the  Union,  when  they  should  obtain  such 
a  population  as  it  might  be  thought  proper  and  reason 
able  to  prescribe.  This  is  the  territory,  and  this  the 
property,  referred  to  in  the  second  clause  of  the  4th 
article  of  the  constitution. 

"  All  the  states  which  had  made  cessions  of  vacant 
territory,  except  Georgia,  had  made  them  before  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution,  and  that  state  had  made 
a  proposition  to  Congress  to  that  effect,  which  was 
under  consideration  at  the  time  the  constitution  was 
adopted.  The  cession  was  completed  after  the  adop 
tion  of  the  constitution.  It  was  made  on  the  same 
principle,  and  on  similar  conditions,  with  those  which 
had  been  already  made  by  the  other  states.  As  dif 
ferences  might  arise  respecting  the  right  or  the  policy 
in  Congress  to  admit  new  states  into  the  Union,  under 
the  new  government,  or  to  make  regulations  for  the 
government  of  the  territory  ceded  in  the  intermediate 
state,  or  for  the  improvement  and  sale  of  the  public 
lands,  or  to  accept  other  cessions,  it  was  thought  pro- 


410 

per  to  make  special  provisions  for  these  objects,  which 
was  accordingly  done  by  the  above  recited  clause  in 
the  constitution. 

"  Thus  the  power  of  Congress  over  the  ceded  terri 
tory  was  not  only  limited  to  these  special  objects,  bat 
was  also  temporary.  As  soon  as  the  territory  became 
a  state,  the  jurisdiction  over  it,  as  it  had  before  exist 
ed,  ceased.  It  extended  afterward  only  to  the  unsold 
lands,  and  as  soon  as  the  whole  were  sold,  it  ceased 
in  that  sense,  also,  altogether.  From  that  moment, 
the  United  States  have  no  jurisdiction  or  power  in  the 
new  states,  other  than  in  the  old,  nor  can  it  be  ob 
tained  except  by  an  amendment  of  the  constitution. 

"  Since  then  it  is  manifest  that  the  power  granted 
to  Congress  to  dispose  of,  and  make  all  needful  regu 
lations  respecting,  the  territory  and  other  property  of 
the  United  States,  relates  solely  to  the  territory  and 
property  which  had  been  ceded  by  individual  states, 
and  which,  after  such  cession,  lay  without  their 
respective  limits,  and  for  which  special  provision  was 
deemed  necessary,  the  main  powers  of  the  constitution 
operating  internally,  not  being  applicable  or  adequate 
thereto,  it  follows  that  this  power  gives  no  authority, 
and  has  even  no  bearing  on  the  question  of  internal 
improvement.  The  authority  to  admit  new  states 
and  to  dispose  of  the  property  and  regulate  the  terri 
tory,  is  not  among  the  enumerated  powers  granted  to 
Congress,  because  the  duties  to  be  performed  under  it 
are  not  among  the  ordinary  duties  of  that  body,  like 
the  imposition  of  taxes,  the  regulation  of  commerce, 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  411 

and  the  like.  They  are  objects  in  their  nature  special, 
and  for  which  special  provision  was  more  suitable  and 
proper. 

u  Having  now  examined  all  the  powers  of  Congress, 
under  which  the  right  to  adopt  and  execute  a  system 
of  internal  improvement  is  claimed,  and  the  reasons  in 
support  of  it,  in  each  instance,  I  think  that  it  may 
fairly  be  concluded  that  such  a  right  has  not  been 
granted.  It  appears,  and  is  admitted,  that  much  may 
be  done  in  aid  of  such  a  system,  by  the  right  which  is 
derived  from  several  of  the  existing  grants,  and  more 
especially  from  that  to  appropriate  the  public  money. 
But  still  it  is  manifest,  that,  as  a  system  for  the  United 
States,  it  can  never  be  carried  into  effect,  under  that 
grant,  nor  under  all  of  them  united,  the  great  and 
essential  power  being  deficient ;  consisting  of  a  right 
to  take  up  the  subject  on  principle  ;  to  cause  our  Union 
to  be  examined  by  men  of  science,  with  a  view  to 
such  improvements  ;  to  authorize  commissioners  to 
lay  off  the  roads  and  canals  in  all  proper  directions  ; 
to  take  the  land  at  a  valuation  if  necessary,  and  to  con 
struct  the  works ;  to  pass  laws,  with  suitable  penalties 
for  their  protection ;  and  to  raise  a  revenue  from 
them  ;  to  keep  them  in  repair,  and  make  further  im 
provement,  by  the  establishment  of  turnpikes  and  tolls, 
with  gates  to  be  placed  at  the  proper  distances. 

"  It  need  scarcely  be  remarked,  that  this  power  will 
operate,  like  many  others  now  existing,  without  affect 
ing  the  sovereignty  of  the  states,  except  in  the  par 
ticular  offices  to  be  performed.  The  jurisdiction  of 
18 


412 

the  several  states  may  still  exist  over  the  roads  and 
canals  within  their  respective  limits,  extending  alike  to 
persons  and  property,  as  if  the  right  to  make  and  pro 
tect  such  improvements  had  not  been  vested  in  Con 
gress.  The  right  being  made  commensurate  simply 
with  the  purposes  indispensable  to  the  system,  may  be 
strictly  confined  to  them.  The  right  of  Congress  to 
protect  the  works,  by  laws,  imposing  penalties,  would 
operate  on  the  same  principle  as  the  right  to  protect 
the  mail.  The  act  being  punishable  only,  a  jurisdiction 
over  the  place  would  be  altogether  unnecessary,  and 
even  absurd. 

"  In  the  preceding  inquiry,  little  has  been  said  of 
the  advantages  which  would  attend  the  exercise  of 
such  a  power  by  the  general  government.  I  have 
made  the  inquiry  under  a  deep  conviction  that  they 
are  almost  incalculable,  and  that  there  was  a  general 
concurrence  of  opinion  among  our  fellow-citizens  to 
that  effect.  Still  it  may  not  be  improper  for  me  to 
state  the  grounds  upon  which  my  own  impression  is 
founded.  If  it  sheds  no  additional  light  on  this  inter 
esting  part  of  the  subject,  it  will,  at  least,  show  that  I 
have  had  more  than  one  powerful  motive  for  making 
the  inquiry.  A  general  idea  is  all  that  I  shall  attempt. 

"  The  advantages  of  such  a  system  must  depend 
upon  the  interests  to  be  affected  by  it,  and  the  extent 
to  which  they  may  be  affected,  and  those  must  depend 
on  the  capacity  of  our  country  for  improvement,  and 
the  means  at  its  command  applicable  to  that  object. 

"I  think  that  I  may  venture  to  affirm  that  there  is 


MOXROE  S    ADMINISTRATION.  413 

no  part  of  our  globe,  comprehending  so  many  degrees 
of  latitude  on  the  main  ocean,  and  so  many  degrees 
of  longitude  into  the  interior,  that  admits  of  such 
great  improvement,  and  at  so  little  expense.  The 
Atlantic,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  lakes,  forming 
almost  inland  seas,  on  the  other  ;  separated  by  high 
mountains  which  rise  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Law 
rence,  and  terminate  in  that  of  the  Mississippi,  tra 
versing  from  north  to  south,  almost  the  whole  interior  ; 
with  innumerable  rivers  on  every  side  of  those  moun 
tains,  some  of  vast  extent,  many  of  which  take  their 
sources  near  to  each  other,  give  the  great  outline  ;  the 
details  are  to  be  seen  on  the  valuable  maps  of  our 
country. 

"It  appears,  by  the  light  already  before  the  public, 
that  it  is  practicable  and  easy  to  connect,  by  canals, 
the  whole  coast,  from  its  southern  to  its  northern 
extremity,  in  one  continued  inland  navigation  ;  and  to 
connect,  in  like  manner,  in  many  parts,  the  western 
lakes  and  rivers  with  each  other.  It  is  equally  prac 
ticable  and  easy  to  facilitate  the  intercourse  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  western  country,  by  improving 
the  navigation  of  many  of  the  rivers,  which  have  their 
sources  near  to  each  other  in  the  mountains,  on  each 
side,  and  by  good  roads  across  the  mountains,  between 
the  highest  navigable  points  of  those  rivers.  In  addi 
tion  to  the  example  of  the  Cumberland  road,  already 
noticed,  another  of  this  kind  is  now  in  train,  from  the 
head  waters  of  the  river  James  to  those  of  the  Kana- 
wha;  and  in  like  manner  may  the  Savannah  be  con- 


414  MONROE'S   ADMINISTRATION. 

nected  with  the  Tennessee.  In  some  instances  it  is 
understood  that  the  eastern  and  western  waters  may 
be  connected  together  directly,  by  canals.  One  great 
work  of  this  kind  is  now  in  its  progress,  and  far  ad 
vanced  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  that  two  others  may  be  formed,  one 
at  each  extremity  of  the  high  mountains  above  men 
tioned,  connecting  in  the  one  instance  the  waters  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  with  Lake  Champlain,  and  in  the 
other,  some  of  the  most  important  of  the  western 
rivers  with  those  emptying  into  the  gulf  of  Mexico ; 
the  advantage  of  which  will  be  seen  at  the  first  glance, 
by  an  enlightened  observer. 

"Great  improvements  may  also  be  made  by  good 
roads,  in  proper  directions,  through  the  interior  of  the 
country.  As  these  roads  would  be  laid  out  on  princi 
ple,  on  a  full  view  of  the  country,  its  mountains,  rivers, 
&c.,  it  would  be  useless,  if  I  had  the  knowledge,  to  go 
into  detail  respecting  them. — Much  has  been  done  by 
some  of  the  states,  but  yet  much  remains  to  be  done 
with  a  view  to  the  Union. 

"Under  the  colonial  governments,  improvements  of 
this  kind  were  not  thought  of.  There  was,  it  is  be 
lieved,  not  one  canal,  and  little  communication  from 
colony  to  colony.  It  was  their  policy  to  encourage 
the  intercourse  between  each  colony  and  the  parent 
country  only.  The  roads  which  were  attended  to, 
were  those  wrhich  led  from  the  interior  of  each  colony 
to  its  principal  towns  on  the  navigable  waters.  By 
those  routes  the  produce  of  the  country  was  carried 


415 

to  the  coast,  and  shipped  thence  to  the  mercantile 
houses  in  London,  Liverpool,  Glasgow,  or  other  towns 
to  which  the  trade  was  carried  on.  It  is  believed 
that  there  was  but  one  connected  route  from  north  to 
south  at  the  commencement  of  the  revolution;  and 
that  a  very  imperfect  one.  The  existence  and  prin 
ciple  of  our  union  point  out  the  necessity  of  a  very 
different  policy. 

"The  advantages  which  would  be  derived  from 
such  improvements  are  incalculable.  The  facility 
which  would  thereby  be  afforded  to  the  transportation 
of  the  whole  of  the  rich  productions  of  our  country  to 
market,  would  alone  more  than  amply  compensate  for 
all  the  labor  and  expense  attending  them.  Great, 
however,  as  is  that  advantage,  it  is  one  only  of  many, 
and  by  no  means  the  most  important.  Every  power 
of  the  general  government  and  of  the  state  govern 
ments,  connected  with  the  strength  and  resources  of 
the  country,  would  be  made  more  efficient  for  the 
purposes  intended  by  them.  In  war,  they  would  facil 
itate  the  transportation  of  men,  ordnance,  and  pro 
visions,  and  munitions  of  war  of  every  kind,  to  every 
part  of  our  extensive  coast  and  interior,  on  which  an 
attack  might  be  made  or  threatened.  Those  who 
have  any  knowledge  of  the  occurrences  of  the  late 
war,  must  know  the  good  effect  which  would  result 
in  the  event  of  another  war,  from  the  command  of  an 
interior  navigation  alone,  along  the  coast,  for  all  the 
purposes  of  war,  as  well  as  of  commerce,  between  the 
different  parts  of  our  Union.  The  impediments  to  all 


416 

military  operations,  which  proceeded  from  the  want 
of  such  a  navigation,  and  the  reliance  which  was 
placed,  notwithstanding  those  impediments,  on  such  a 
commerce,  can  not  be  forgotten.  In  every  other  line 
their  good  effect  would  be  most  sensibly  felt.  Intelli 
gence  by  means  of  the  postoffice  department  would 
be  more  easily,  extensively,  and  rapidly  diffused. 
Parts  the  most  remote  from  each  other  would  be 
brought  more  closely  together.  Distant  lands  would 
be  made  more  valuable,  and  the  industry  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  on  every  portion  of  our  soil,  be  better  re 
warded. 

"  It  is  natural  in  so  great  a  variety  of  climate,  that 
there  should  be  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  pro 
duce  of  the  soil ;  that  one  part  should  raise  what  the 
other  might  want.  It  is  equally  natural  that  the  pur 
suits  of  industry  should  vary  in  like  manner  ;  that 
labor  should  be  cheaper,  and  manufactures  succeed 
better,  in  one  part  than  in  another.  That  where  the 
climate  was  most  severe  and  the  soil  less  productive, 
navigation,  the  fisheries,  and  commerce,  should  be 
most  relied  on.  Hence  the  motive  for  an  exchange 
for  mutual  accommodation,  and  active  intercourse 
between  them.  Each  part  would  thus  find  for  the 
surplus  of  its  labor,  in  whatever  article  it  consisted,  an 
extensive  market  at  home,  which  would  be  the  most 
profitable  because  free  from  duty. 

"There  is  another  view  in  which  these  improvements 
are  still  of  more  vital  importance.  The  effect  which 
they  would  have  on  the  bond  of  union  itself,  affords 


417 

an  inducement  for  them,  more  powerful  than  any 
which  have  been  urged,  or  than  all  of  them  united. 
The  only  danger  to  which  our  system  is  exposed  ari 
ses  from  its  expansion  over  a  vast  territory.  Our 
Union  is  not  held  together  by  standing  armies,  or  by 
any  ties,  other  than  the  positive  interests  and  power 
ful  attractions  of  its  parts  toward  each  other.  Ambi 
tious  men  may  hereafter  grow  up  among  us,  who  may 
promise  to  themselves  advancement  from  a  change, 
and  by  practising  upon  the  sectional  interests,  feelings, 
and  prejudices,  endeavor,  under  various  pretexts,  to 
promote  it.  The  history  of  the  world  is  replete  with 
examples  of  this  kind;  of  military  commanders  and 
demagogues  becoming  usurpers  and  tyrants,  and  of 
their  fellow-citizens  becoming  their  instruments  and 
slaves.  I  have  little  fear  of  this  danger,  knowing  well 
how  strong  the  bond  which  holds  us  together  is,  and 
who  the  people  are,  who  are  thus  held  together;  but 
still  it  is  proper  to  look  at,  and  to  provide  against  it, 
and  it  is  not  within  the  compass  of  human  wisdom  to 
make  a  more  effectual  provision,  than  would  be  made 
by  the  proposed  improvements.  With  their  aid,  and 
the  intercourse  which  would  grow  out  of  them,  the 
•parts  would  soon  become  so  compacted  and  bound  to 
gether  that  nothing  could  break  it. 

The  expansion  of  our  Union  over  a  vast  territory 
can  not  operate  unfavorably  to  the  states  individually. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  believed  that  the  greater  the  ex 
pansion,  within  practicable  limits,  and  it  is  not  easy  to 
say  what  are  not  so,  the  greater  the  advantage  which 


418  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

the  states  individually  will  derive  from  it.  With  gov 
ernments  separate,  vigorous,  and  efficient  for  all  local 
purposes,  their  distance  from  each  other  can  have  no 
injurious  effect  upon  their  respective  interests.  It 
has  already  been  shown,  that,  in  some  important  cir 
cumstances,  especially  with  the  aid  of  these  improve 
ments,  they  must  derive  great  advantage  from  that 
cause  alone,  that  is,  from  their  distance  from  each 
other.  In  every  other  way,  the  expansion  of  our  sys 
tem  must  operate  favorably  for  every  state,  in  propor 
tion  as  it  operates  favorably  for  the  Union.  It  is  in 
that  sense  only  that  it  can  become  a  question  with  the 
states,  or  rather  with  the  people  who  compose  them. 
As  states  they  can  be  affected  by  it  only  by  their  rela 
tion  to  each  other  through  the  general  government, 
and  by  its  effects  on  the  operations  of  that  govern 
ment.  Manifest  it  is,  that  to  any  extent  to  which  the 
general  government  can  sustain  and  execute  its  func 
tions  with  complete  effect,  will  the  states,  that  is,  the 
people  who  compose  them,  be  benefited.  It  is  only 
when  the  expansion  shall  be  carried  beyond  the  facul 
ties  of  the  general  government,  so  as  to  enfeeble  its 
operations,  to  the  injury  of  the  whole,  that  any  of  the 
parts  can  be  injured.  The  tendency,  in  that  stage, 
will  be  to  dismemberment,  and  not  to  consolidation. 
This  danger  should,  therefore,  be  looked  at  with  pro 
found  attention,  as  one  of  a  very  serious  character.  I 
will  remark  here,  that,  as  the  operations  of  the  national 
government  are  of  a  general  nature,  the  states  having 
complete  power  for  internal  and  local  purposes,  the 


419 

expansion  may  be  carried  to  very  great  extent,  and 
with  perfect  safety.  It  must  be  obvious  to  all,  that 
the  further  the  expansion  is  carried,  provided  it  be 
not  beyond  the  just  limit,  the  greater  will  be  the  free 
dom  of  action  to  both  governments,  and  the  more  per 
fect  their  security  ;  and  in  all  other  respects,  the  better 
the  effect  will  be  to  the  whole  American  people.  Ex 
tent  of  territory,  whether  it  be  great  or  small,  gives 
to  a  nation  many  of  its  characteristics.  It  marks  the 
extent  of  its  resources,  of  its  population,  of  its  physi 
cal  force.  It  marks,  in  short,  the  difference  between 
a  great  and  a  small  power. 

"To  what  extent  it  may  be  proper  to  expand  our 
system  of  government,  is  a  question  which  does  not 
press  for  a  decision  at  this  time.  At  the  end  of  the 
revolutionary  war,  in  1783,  we  had,  as  we  contended 
and  believed,  a  right  to  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  but  it  was  not  until  after  the  expiration 
of  twelve  years,  in  1795,  that  that  right  was  acknow 
ledged  and  enjoyed.  Further  difficulties  occurred,  in 
the  bustling  of  a  contentious  world,  when,  at  the  expi 
ration  of  eight  years  more,  the  United  States,  sustain 
ing  the  strength  and  energy  of  their  character, 
acquired  the  province  of  Louisiana,  with  the  free 
navigation  of  the  river,  from  its  source  to  the  ocean, 
and  a  liberal  boundary  on  the  western  side.  To  this, 
Florida  has  since  been  added,  so  that  we  now  possess 
all  the  territory  in  which  the  original  states  had  any 
interest,  or  in  which  the  existing  states  can  be  said, 

either  in  a  national  or  local  point  of  view,  to  be  in  any 

18* 


420  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

way  interested.  A  range  of  states  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Mississippi,  which  already  is  provided  for, 
puts  us  essentially  at  ease.  Whether  it  will  be  wise 
to  go  further,  will  turn  on  other  .considerations  than 
those  which  have  dictated  the  course  heretofore  pur 
sued.  At  whatever  point  we  may  stop,  whether  it  be 
at  a  single  range  of  states  beyond  the  Mississippi,  or 
by  taking  a  greater  scope,  the  advantage  of  such  im 
provements  is  deemed  of  the  highest  importance.  It 
is  so,  on  the  present  scale.  The  further  we  go,  the 
greater  will  be  the  necessity  for  them. 

"It  can  not  be  doubted,  that  improvements  for  great 
national  purposes  would  be  better  made  by  the  national 
government,  than  by  the  governments  of  the  several 
states.  Our  experience,  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the 
constitution,  demonstrated,  that  in  the  exercise  by  the 
individual  states  of  most  of  the  powers  granted  to  the 
United  States,  a  contracted  rivalry  of  interests,  and 
misapplied  jealousy  of  each  other,  had  an  important 
influence  on  all  their  measures,  to  the  great  injury  of 
the  whole.  This  was  particularly  exemplified  by  the 
regulations  which  they  severally  made,  of  their  com 
merce  with  foreign  nations,  and  with  each  other,  It 
was  this  utter  incapacity  in  the  state  governments, 
proceeding  from  these  and  other  causes,  to  act  as  a 
nation,  and  to  perform  all  the  duties  which  the  nation 
owed  to  itself,  under  any  system  which  left  the  gene 
ral  government  dependent  on  the  states,  which  pro 
duced  the  transfer  of  these  powers  to  the  United 
States,  by  the  establishment  of  the  present  constitu- 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  421 

tion. — The  reasoning  which  was  applicable  to  the 
grant  of  any  of  the  powers  now  vested  in  Congress, 
is  likewise  so,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent,  to  that  in 
question.  li  is  natural  that  the  states,  individually, 
in  making  improvements,  should  look  to  their  particu 
lar  and  local  interests.  The  members  composing  their 
respective  legislatures  represent  the  people  of  each 
state,  only,  and  might  not  feel  themselves  at  liberty 
to  look  to  objects,  in  these  respects,  beyond  that  limit. 
If  the  resources  of  the  Union  were  to  be  brought  into 
operation  under  the  direction  of  the  state  assemblies, 
or  in  concert  with  them,  it  may  be  apprehended  that 
every  measure  would  become  the  object  of  negotia 
tion,  of  bargain  and  barter,  much  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  system,  as  well  as  discredit  to  both  govern 
ments.  But  Congress  would  look  to  the  whole,  and 
make  improvements  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
whole.  It  is  the  peculiar  felicity  of  the  proposed 
amendment,  that  while  it  will  enable  the  United  States 
to  accomplish  every  national  object,  the  improvements 
made  with  that  view  will  eminently  promote  the  wel 
fare  of  the  individual  states,  who  may  also  add  such 
others  as  their  own  particular  interests  may  require. 

"The  situation  of  the  Cumberland  road  requires  the 
particular  and  early  attention  of  Congress.  Being 
formed  over  very  lofty  mountains,  and  in  many  in 
stances  over  deep  and  wide  streams,  across  which 
valuable  bridges  have  been  erected,  which  are  sus 
tained  by  stone  walls,  as  are  many  other  parts  of  the 
road,  all  these  works  are  subject  to  decay,  have  de- 


422 

cayed,  and  will  decay  rapidly,  unless  timely  and  effec 
tual  measures  are  adopted  to  prevent  it. 

"  The  declivities  from  the  mountains,  and  all  the 
heights,  must  suffer  from  the  frequent  and  heavy  falls 
of  water,  and  its  descent  to  the  valleys,  as  also  from 
the  deep  congelations  during  our  severe  winters. 
Other  injuries  have  also  been  experienced  on  this  road, 
such  as  the  displacing  the  capping  of  the  walls,  and 
other  works,  committed  by  worthless  people,  either 
from  a  desire  to  render  the  road  impassable,  or  to 
have  the  transportation  in  another  direction,  or  from 
a  spirit  of  wantonness  to  create  employment  for  idlers. 
These  considerations  show,  that  an  active  and  strict 
police  ought  to  be  established  over  the  whole  road,* 
with  power  to  make  repairs  when  necessary ;  to 
establish  turnpikes  and  tolls,  as  the  means  of  raising 
money  to  make  them ;  and  to  prosecute  and  punish 
those  who  commit  waste  and  other  injuries. 

"Should  the  United  States  be  willing  to  abandon 
this  road  to  the  states  through  which  it  passes,  would 
they  take  charge  of  it,  each  of  that  portion  within  its 
limits,  and  keep  it  in  repair]  It  is  not  to  be  presumed 
that  they  would,  since  the  advantages  attending  it  are 
exclusively  national,  by  connecting,  as  it  does,  the 
Atlantic  with  the  western  states,  and  in  a  line  with 
the  seat  of  the  national  government.  The  most  ex 
pensive  parts  of  this  road  lie  within  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  very  near  the  confines  of  each  state,  and  in 
a  route  not  essentially  connected  with  the  commerce 
of  either. 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  423 

"If  it  is  thought  proper  to  vest  this  power  in  the 
United  States,  the  only  mode  in  which  it  can  be  done 
is,  by  an  amendment  of  the  constitution.  The  states, 
individually,  can  not  transfer  the  power  to  the  United 
States,  nor  can  the  United  States  receive  it.  The 
constitution  forms  an  equal  and  the  sole  relation  be 
tween  the  general  government  and  the  several  states  ; 
and  it  recognises  no  change  in  it,  which  shall  not,  in 
like  manner  apply  to  all.  If  it  is  once  admitted,  that 
the  general  government  may  form  compacts  with 
individual  states,  not  common  to  the  others,  and  which 
the  others  might  even  disapprove,  into  what  perni 
cious  consequences  might  it  not  lead  1  Such  compacts 
are  utterly  repugnant  to  the  principles  of  the  consti 
tution,  and  of  the  most  dangerous  tendency.  The 
states,  through  which  this  road  passes,  have  given 
their  sanction  only  to  the  route,  and  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  soil  by  the  United  States — a  right  very  different 
from  that  of  jurisdiction,  which  can  not  be  granted 
without  an  amendment  to  the  constitution,  and  which 
need  not  be  granted  for  the  purposes  of  this  system, 
except  in  the  limited  manner  heretofore  stated.  On 
full  consideration,  therefore,  of  the  whole  subject,  I 
am  of  opinion  that  such  an  amendment  ought  to  be 
recommended  to  the  several  states  for  their  adoption. 

"I  have  now  essentially  executed  that  part  of  the 
task  which  I  imposed  on  myself,  of  examining  the  right 
of  Congress  to  adopt  and  execute  a  system  of  internal 
improvement,  and  I  presume  have  shown  that  it  does 
not  oxist.  It  is,  I  think,  equally  manifest,  that  such  a 


424 

power  vested  in  Congress,  and  wisely  executed,  would 
have  the  happiest  effect,  on  all  the  great  interests  of 
our  Union.  It  is,  however,  my  opinion  that  the  power 
should  be  confined  to  great  national  works  only,  since, 
if  it  were  unlimited,  it  would  be  liable  to  abuse,  and 
might  be  productive  of  evil.  For  all  minor  improve 
ments,  the  resources  of  the  states  individually,  would 
be  fully  adequate,  and  by  the  states  such  improvements 
might  be  made  with  greater  advantage  than  by  the 
Union  ;  as  they  would  understand  better  such  as  their 
more  immediate  and  local  interests  required." 

Congress  finally  closed  its  session  on  the  8th  day  of 
May,  and  re-assembled  again  on  the  2nd  day  of  De 
cember  following.  Samuel  D.  Ingham  appeared  at 
this  session  from  Pennsylvania,  having  been  elected  to 
fill  a  vacancy.  The  president,  in  his  annual  message, 
stated  that  the  receipts  from  customs  during  the  year 
1822,  would  probably  amount  to  twenty- three  millions 
of  dollars.  In  regard  to  the  Cumberland  Road,  he 
repeated  the  general  principles  set  forth  in  his  expo 
sition  of  the  4th  of  May  previous,  drawing  a  distinc 
tion,  however,  as  he  had  formerly  done,  between  the 
right  to  make  appropriations,  and  the  right  of  exercis 
ing  jurisdiction  and  sovereignty  on  the  line  of  the 
route.  With  respect  to  the  manufacturing  interest, 
he  again  recommended  it  to  the  fostering  care  of 
Congress,  but  enjoined  upon  them  the  necessity  of 
proceeding  with  the  greatest  caution  in  making  changes 
in  existing  enactments. 

Few  acts  of  general  interest  were  passed  at  this 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  425 

session.  An  additional  naval  force  was  authorized  to 
be  employed  for  the  suppression  of  piracy.  A  bill  to 
increase  the  duty  on  woolen  goods  was  introduced, 
and  discussed  for  some  time,  but  it  failed  to  receive  a 
favorable  vote.  Various  propositions  for  the  survey 
of  canal  routes,  across  Cape  Cod,  from  the  Raritan  to 
the  Delaware,  from  the  Delaware  to  Chesapeake  Bay, 
from  the  Chesapeake  to  Albemarle  Sound,  and  from 
Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  river,  were  brought  forward ; 
but  none  of  them  received  the  sanction  of  Congress. 
As  the  president  had  intimated,  in  his  message,  his 
willingness  to  sign  a  bill  providing  for  the  repair  of 
the  Cumberland  road,  without  assuming  the  questioned 
right  of  sovereignty,  an  appropriation  was  made  for 
that  purpose. 

In  1822,  a  treaty  of  navigation  and  commerce  with 
France,  negotiations  for  which  had  long  been  pending, 
was  at  length  concluded.  It  was  submitted  to  the 
Senate,  and  duly  ratified,  at  this  session,  which  came 
to  a  close  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1823. 

The  question  of  the  succession  to  the  presidential 
office  affected  the  elections  for  the  eighteenth  Congress 
to  a  certain  extent.  All  the  candidates  were  still  in 
the  field,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Lowndes,  who 
died  in  1822.  Mr.  Calhoun,  too,  was  subsequently 
withdrawn,  and  by  nearly  general  consent  adopted  as 
the  candidate  for  the  vice-presidency  of  all  the  fac 
tions,  except  the  friends  of  Mr.  Crawford.  Still,  it 
was  anticipated  that,  on  account  of  the  number  of 
candidates,  the  election  would  ultimately  devolve  on 


426  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

the  House  of  Representatives  ;  and  the  friends  of  each 
contestant  labored  to  secure  as  many  members  as 
possible. 

Congress  assembled  for  its  regular  session  on  the 
1st  day  of  December,  1823,  and  did  not  adjourn  until 
the  26th  of  May,  1824.  Mr.  Clay  being  again  returned 
from  Kentucky,  he  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House, 
over  Mr.  P.  P.  Barbour,  the  presiding  officer  of  that 
body  in  the  previous  Congress,  by  a  large  majority. 
Messrs.  R.  King,  Van  Buren,  Dickerson,  Southard, 
Lowrie,  S.  Smith,  J.  Barbour,  Macon,  W.  R.  King, 
Brown,  and  Benton,  still  retained  their  seats  in  the 
Senate.  Among  the  new  senators  who  were  Conspic 
uous,  were  John  Branch,  of  North  Carolina  ;  Robert 
Y.  Hayne,  of  South  Carolina ;  and  Andrew  Jackson, 
of  Tennessee.  Messrs.  J.  W.  Taylor,  P.  P.  Barbour, 
Mallary,  Cambrel  ing,  Ingham,  McLane,  Floyd,  Mer 
cer,  Randolph,  Saunders,  McDuffie,  and  Poinsett,  were 
all  re-elected.  Samuel  A.  Foot  was  once  more  re 
turned  from  Connecticut ;  and  Daniel  Webster,  who 
had  been  a  prominent  federal  member  from  New 
Hampshire  during  the  war,  now  appeared  from  the 
state  of  Massachusetts.  John  Forsyth,  of  Georgia, 
William  C.  Rives,  of  Virginia,  and  Edward  Living 
ston,  of  Louisiana,  all  leading  republicans,  were  elect 
ed  from  their  respective  states. 

Mr.  Southard  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  on  the 
9th  of  December,  in  consequence  of  his  receiving  the 
appointment  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  the  place 
of  Smith  Thompson,  appointed  one  of  the  associate 


MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION.  427 

Justices  of  the  Supreme  Co  rt  of  the  United  States. 
On  the  same  day  John  McLean,  of  Ohio,  was  appointed 
postmaster  general,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Meigs,  who 
had  resigned  the  office. 

From  the  annual  message  of  President  Monroe,  it 
appeared  that  measures  had  been  taken  to  determine 
by  amicable  negotiation,  the  respective  rights  and 
interests  of  the  United  States  on  the  one  part,  and  the 
governments  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain  on  the  other, 
upon  the  northwest  coast  of  the  American  continent. 
In  referring  to  this  subject,  the  president  made  use  of 
the  following  language,  which,  by  the  successive 
reiterations  of  subsequent  cfeief  magistrates,  has  come 
ts'be  regarded  as  embodying  the  settled  policy  of  this 
government : — 

"  In  the  discussions,"  said  he,  "  to  which  this  interest 
has  given  rise,  and  in  the  arrangements  by  which  they 
may  terminate,  the  occasion  has  been  judged  proper 
for  asserting,  as  a  principle  in  which  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  United  States  are  involved,  that  the 
American  continents,  by  the  free  and  independent 
condition  which  they  have  assumed  and  maintain,  are 
henceforth  not  to  be  considered  as  subjects  for  future 
colonization  by  any  European  powers." 

The  public  finances  were  represented  by  the  Execu 
tive  to  be  in  a  highly  favorable  condition ;  ij;  being 
estimated  that  there  would  remain  a  surplus  of  nearly 
nine  millions  of  dollars  in  the  treasury,  on  the  1st  day 
of  January,  1824.  He  likewise  recommended  the 
construction  of  a  canal,  to  connect  the  waters  of  the 


428  MONROE'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Chesapeake  with  those  of  the  Ohio,  as  a  great  national 
work  ;  provided,  however,  that  the  jurisdiction  should 
remain  with  the  states  through  which  the  canal  would 
pass.  With  regard  to  the  amendment  of  the  tariff, 
he  repeated  the  recommendations  of  former  messages, 
and  suggested  that  additional  protection  should  be 
afforded  to  those  articles  we  were  prepared  to  manu 
facture,  or  which  were  immediately  connected  with 
the  defence  and  independence  of  the  country. 

In  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the 
president,  a  tariff  act  was  passed  at  this  session,  though 
not  without  strenuous  opposition,  raising  the  duties  on 
imported  goods.  In  the  senate  the  majority  in  favor 
of  the  bill  was  four,  and  in  the  House  only  five.  A 
general  law  _was  also  enacted,  appropriating  the  sum 
of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  for  the  survey  of  routes  for 
such  roads  and  canals  as  the  president  might  deem  of 
national  importance.  As  this  bill  did  not  come  in  con 
flict  with  the  constitutional  scruples  of  the  Executive, 
concerning  an  interference  with  state  jurisdiction,  it 
received  his  approbation  and  signature. 

But  the  question  of  the  succession  to  the  presidency 
absorbed  almost  every  topic,  and  engrossed  nearly  the 
whole  attention  of  the  members  of  Congress  at  this 
session.  It  was  ascertained,  shortly  after  they  first 
came  together,  that  a  decided  plurality  of  the  wrhole 
number  were  in  favor  of  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Craw 
ford,  the  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  who  had 
been  almost  successful  in  defeating  Mr.  Monroe  in  the 
caucus  held  in  1816.  After  various  projects  had  been 


429 

alternately  adopted  and  rejected,  it  was  finally  tacitly 
understood  between  the  friends  of  the  other  candidates, 
that  they  would  riot  go  into  a  caucus.  The  friends 
of  Mr.  Crawford,  however,  headed  by  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
Mr.  Forsyth,  and  Mr.  Dickerson,  caused  a  call  to  be 
issued,  according  to  the  former  usage  of  the  republi 
can  party ;  but  the  caucus,  which  proved  to  be  the 
last  of  a  similar  character,  was  attended  by  only  sixty- 
six  members,  embracing,  however,  nearly  all  the  lead 
ing  politicians  of  the  old  republican  party.  On  the 
ballot  which  was  had,  Mr.  Crawford  received  sixty- 
four  votes,  and  was  declared  nominated.  Mr.  Gatta- 
tin  was  put  in  nomination  for  the  vice-presidency,  but 
subsequently  declined.  The  other  candidates  were 
supported  by  their  respective  friends  in  the  different 
sections  of  the  Union,  without  the  intervention  of  any 
caucus  or  convention. 

Neither  party  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  majority  of 
the  electoral  votes, — General  Jackson  receiving  ninety- 
nine,  Mr.  Adams  eighty-four,  Mr.  Crawford  forty- 
one,  and  Mr.  Clay  thirty-seven.  It  was  therefore 
left  for  the  eighteenth  Congress,  which  assembled  for 
the  short  session  on  the  6th  of  December,  1824,  to 
make  the  selection  from  the  three  highest  on  the  list. 
The  influence  of  Mr.  Clay  being  now  thrown  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Adams,  he  was  duly  elected.  Mr.  Calhoun 
received  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  electoral  votes, 
which  secured  his  election  as  vice-president. 

The  president  gave  a  flattering  review  of  the  for- 


430 

eign  relations  and  the  domestic  interests  of  the  coun 
try,  in  his  last  annual  message.  He  stated  that  the 
public  debt  had  been  reduced  to  eighty-six  millions  of 
dollars,  and  that  the  current  revenue  was  amply  suffi 
cient  to  meet  all  the  liabilities  of  the  government, 
including  the  sum  of  ten  millions  appropriated  to  the 
sinking  fund.  He  also  adverted  to  the  fortifications 
which  had  been  constructed,  and  the  military  and 
naval  armaments  which  had  been  provided  for  the 
defence  of  the  country,  and  concluded  with  an  earnest 
expression  of  his  grateful  thanks  for  the  kindness  and 
favor  of  his  countrymen,  manifested,  on  repeated 
occasions,  during  his  long  career  in  public  life. 

"Very  little  business  of  especial  importance  was  trans 
acted  at  this  session.  Mr.  King  offered  a  resolution 
in  the  Senate,  proposing  that,  after  the  payment  of 
the  national  debt,  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands 
should  be  applied  to  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  and 
the  removal  of  free  persons  of  color  to  some  territory 
without  the  United  States.  A  majority  of  the  sena 
tors,  however,  could  not  be  induced  to  sanction  Mr. 
King's  proposition,  and  it  was  consequently  defeated. 

On  the  3d  day  of  March,  the  term  of  service  of  the 
members  of  the  eighteenth  Congress  expired.  The 
administration  of  Mr.  Monroe  also  came  to  an  end  ; 
and  on  the  following  day  he  surrendered  up  the  exe 
cutive  power,  which  he  had  wielded  so  long  and  so 
worthily,  into  the  hands  of  his  successor.  In  yielding 
up  his  trust,  he  could  look  back  upon  the  past  without 


431 

regret,  and  in  the  future  hopefully  count  on  the  endu 
ring  gratitude  of  his  countrymen. 

It  has  been  erroneously  said  of  Mr.  Monroe's  admin 
istration,  that  during  its  continuance  the  lines  of  party 
were  entirely  obliterated.  This  is  certainly  erroneous. 
From  the  beginning  to  the  end,  he  was  a  republican 
of  the  old  Jeffersonian  school ;  and  it  is  very  evident 
that  he  never  approved  of  a  protective  tariff,  for  the 
sake  of  protection  merely,  but  primarily  for  the  sake 
of  revenue,  the  former  being  only  the  incidental  ob 
ject — and,  furthermore,  it  is  equally  plain  that  he 
never  waived  his  opposition  to  the  exercise  of  jurisdic 
tion  or  sovereignty  in  the  states,  without  their  con 
sent,  in  order  to  carry  on  a  system  of  internal  im 
provement,  in  the  absence  of  an  amendment  to  the 
federal  constitution  expressly  conferring  the  power. 
To  the  last  moment  of  his  administration,  he  remained 
the  uncompromising  opponent  of  the  federalism  of 
1798  and  1812,  and  in  his  appointments,  neither  ap 
proved,  nor  encouraged,  nor  favored  it. 

His  administration  was,  indeed,  "the  era  of  good 
feeling."  The  rank  and  file  of  the  old  federal  opposi 
tion  changed  their  ground,  but  the  leaders  remained 
true  to  their  instincts.  The  fires  of  party,  therefore, 
only  slumbered  for  the  time,  to  burst  forth  again  with 
increased  fury. 

By  his  mild  and  conciliatory  policy,  peace  was 
maintained  with  other  governments,  and  by  his  benign 
and  moderate  counsels,  tranquillity  was  secured  at 


432 


MONROE  S    ADMINISTRATION. 


home.  A  large  and  valuable  acquisition  of  territory 
was  made  ;  the  foundations  for  national  prosperity 
and  greatness  were  laid ;  and  when  he  retired  to  pri 
vate  life,  the  American  Union  was  advancing,  with 
the  vigor  and  stride  of  a  giant,  on  its  path  to  true  glory 
and  fame. 


THE    END. 


^     - 


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